Lima: Archeologists in Peru say the 227 bodies they have unearthed from a site used by the pre-Columbian Chimu culture is the biggest-ever discovery of sacrificed children. Archeologists have been digging since last year at the huge sacrificial site in Huanchaco, a beachside tourist town north of the capital Lima.

"This is the biggest site where the remains of sacrificed children have been found," chief archeologist Feren Castillo told AFP on Tuesday. Castillo said the children, who were aged between four and 14, were sacrificed in a ritual to honor the Chimu culture's gods. "They were sacrificed to appease the El Nino phenomenon," and show signs of being killed during wet weather, he said. He added that there may still be more to be found.