Incan King's Mummy

**Incan King's Mummy** is the 26th episode in Season 2 of Expedition Unknown.

## Plot Synopsis

Gates searches for the lost mummy of Atahualpa, the last king of the Incan empire, hidden high in the Andes Mountains and in the jungles and highlands of Ecuador. His reign ended when Spanish Conquistador Francisco Pizarro murdered him and brought the Inca civilization to an end. His body was mummified in a ritual that supposedly gave him sway over the world of the living. Since then, his body vanished and archaeologists have been searching ever since.

## Historical Context

"His name is Atahualpa. He was the last king of the Incan Empire. His reign ended when Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro murdered him and brought the Inca civilisation to its knees. But Atahualpa retained great power and wealth, even in death. Like all Incan kings, his body was mummified in a sacred ritual designed to give him supernatural sway over the world of the living. And then his body vanished. It was long believed that Atahualpa was buried where he died in Peru but recently unearthed documents suggest that his body was secretly carried back to Ecuador to empower an Incan army."

- Josh Gates

## Summary

Josh goes to San Francisco Church in Quito, Ecuador where he explores the catacombs and Mitad del Mundo. He meets Mayra Caragulia, a park ranger, at the real equator. He then goes to the Ministry of Culture where he meets Pablo Garcia, a historian, who shows him previously undiscovered documents that show Atahulpa may be buried at a family property. Josh goes to a market in Saquisili and gets supplies for his journey into the Highlands.

He drives to Malqui-Machay where he meets German Molina, a researcher and Cale Rodriguez, his colleague. They follow Incan roads and see old Incan ruins that could indicate a temple and they see where Atahulpa's mummy may have been kept at one point. They trek higher and meet a farmer who shows them an Incan tumbaga chest plate. They continue up the mountain and on overgrown trails where they find a Pucara, and Incan watchtower, and a tomb. Inside the tomb, Josh finds a tumbaga clothes clip.

They go meet the rest of German and Cale's team including Benoit Duverneuil, an aerial archaeologist. Benoit has found watchtowers encircling an area where Atahulpa may be buried. The next morning, they set out to search the area and find an area that has steep sections leading to flat terraces. An aerial map shows that the hill they are on, is in fact, a huge Inca fortress.

## Final Words

"The puzzle pieces to the location of Atahualpa's mummy are falling into place. Faded documents reveal it was brought to Ecuador where there are ceremonial sites fit for an Incan king and imperial treasures recovered far from civilisation. In this untouched wilderness are overgrown trails leading to long-abandoned Incan ruins. These battlements must have guarded something and seem to encircle our final destination, a massive hill that eagle-eye technology has revealed is actually a towering, undiscovered Incan fortress. The next step is to peel back the vegetation and explore what's underneath. Until then, Atahualpa will keep us frantically searching, proving that he still retains power nearly 500 years after his death."

- Josh Gates

## Notes & Trivia

* *This is where you can put notes and trivia, anything that is interesting or strange can be included here*

## Quotes

* "That's the fakequator."
* "We have roads in New Jersey that are 50 years old but look like they got hit with a missile."
* "Yeah, the union guys don't have that same kind of pressure."

## References

1. ↑ https://static-us-east-2-fastly-a.www.philo.com/gracenote/assets/p12858668\_e\_h11\_ab.jpg