Archaeologists identify 3,200-year-old temple mural of spider god in Peru

Mural discovered last year is thought to depict a zoomorphic, knife-wielding spider god associated with rain and fertility

Archaeologists in northern Peru have identified a 3,200-year-old mural painted on the side of an ancient adobe temple that is thought to depict a zoomorphic, knife-wielding spider god associated with rain and fertility.

The mural - applied in ochre, yellow, grey and white paint to the wall of the 15m by 5m mud brick structure in the Viru province of Peru's La Libertad region - was discovered last year after much of the site was destroyed by local farmers trying to extend their avocado and sugarcane plantations.