AN ANCIENT city that is over 3,500 years old has been unearthed in Peru.

The ancient city of Peñico is thought to have been a vital link between early Pacific coast settlements and remote communities deep in the Andes and Amazon.

Located in the northern Barranca province – around 120 miles north of Lima – the site lies around 1,970 feet above sea level.

It is believed to date back to between 1,800 and 1,500 BC – around the period that early civilisations were flourishing in the Middle East and Asia.

Archaeologists say the discovery sheds light on what became of the Americas’ oldest civilisation, the Caral.

Incredible drone footage shows a circular structure on a hillside terrace at the city’s centre – surrounded by the remains of stone and mud buildings.

After eight years of research 18 structures were found including ceremonial temples and residential complexes.

Objects were also discovered in buildings at the site including ceremonial objects, clay sculptures of human and animal figures and necklaces made from beads and seashells.

Peñico is located close to where Caral was established 5,000 years ago in the Supe valley of Peru, around 3,000 BC.

Recognised as the oldest known civilisation in the Americas, Caral features 32 monuments.

This includes large pyramid structures, sophisticated irrigation agriculture and urban settlements.

It is believed to have developed in isolation to other comparative early civilisations in India, Egypt, Sumeria and China.

Dr Ruth Shady, the archaeologist who led the recent research into Peñico and the excavation of Caral in the 1990s, said the discovery is crucial in knowing what happened after the Caral civilisation was decimated by climate change.

She told the Reuters news agency that the Peñico community was “situated in a strategic location for trade, for exchange with societies from the coast, the highlands and the jungle.”

Archaeologist Marco Machacuay, a researcher with the Ministry of Culture, unveiled the findings at news conference on Thursday.

He said that Peñico’s importance lies in it being a continuation of the Caral society.

Many of the Americas’ most significant archaeological discoveries have been found in Peru.

This includes the Inca citadel of Machu Picchu in the Andes and the mysterious Nazca lines etched into the desert in southern Peru.