Utility workers digging trenches stumble upon 1,000-year-old mummy with intact hair

Utility workers recently came across a millennia-old mummy that predates the Inca Empire.

The well-preserved female mummy dates back 1,000 years, experts said - and was found just 20 inches below the ground. 

The Inca Empire lasted from around 1400 to 1533 A.D. - so the individual died some 400 years before the rise of the Incans.

Pictures of the remains show the skeleton in an upright position, still retaining dark brown hair.

The mummy likely dates back to the Chancay culture, which existed in Peru from 1000 to 1470 A.D.

Jose Aliaga, an archaeologist with utility company Cálidda, told The Associated Press the burial was undoubtedly pre-Hispanic. 

The Spanish colonized the area in 1535. 

"We found remains and evidence that there could be a pre-Hispanic burial," Aliaga said.

Lima, home to 10 million people, has been inhabited by humans for thousands of years. 

The city is located in a valley irrigated by three Andes-fed rivers, which made it inhabitable for ancient civilizations.

Pieter Van Dalen, dean of the College of Archaeologists of Peru, told AP that coming across remains is not uncommon in Lima. 

"It is very common to find archaeological remains on the Peruvian coast, including Lima, mainly funerary elements: tombs, burials, and, among these, mummified individuals," the expert noted. 

Van Dalen, who was not involved in the discovery, said many Peruvian mummies are naturally mummified in desert areas, where their skin is dehydrated by the heat. 

Some Peruvian mummies are usually found in a seated position with hands covering their faces.

Mummies are of high interest to archaeologists worldwide, and many are discovered and studied every year.

Fox News Digital's Mitch Picasso contributed to this report, as did The Associated Press.