The first is the most comprehensive research results of two British archaeologists Nazca lines - the mysterious drawings created from about 2100 to 1300 years ago in the Peruvian desert - were published in the latest issue of "Antiquity".

Winding and scuffed path traversing the wilderness, and as if with a functional purpose are very different from the arrows and lines, geometric figures, which seems likely, had the spiritual and ritual purposes. Perhaps, we believe that the real value of some of these pictures of the desert was in their creation, and not any other subsequent physical use. Says Dr. Nick Saunders (Saunders).

In the framework of the five-year study, Dr. Nicholas Saunders from the University of Bristol, Department of archaeology and anthropology, and Professor Clive Rugles (Ruggles) from the University of Leicester have passed 1500 kilometres of desert in the South of Peru, tracking lines and geometric shapes created by the Nasca people between 100 BC and 700 ad..

Since then, as they were discovered in the 1920's, confusing ancient pictures of the desert - palimpsest - attracted many researchers and theories have emerged, allegedly to explain, in particular, strange ideas Erich von D?niken, which suggests that the signs caused visited these places aliens.

Dr Saunders and Professor Rugles combined experience and knowledge gained while walking along the lines of, studying imposed designers layers, photographing associated ceramics and using digital satellite maps for the detailed study of all the data.
They found a new design in a complex mazes, "hidden" in the landscape. Invisible to the naked eye in its entirety, the only way by which it was possible to find out is to go all the way in 4.4km rather than focusing directions, changing the start and end within the spiral formations.

They studied the integrity of many lines and shapes, and assume that after 1500, often well preserved outlines of these shapes evidence against the theory that the crowd of people and animals were held here in the direction of the ancient pilgrimage center of Cahuachi (Cahuachi) in the neighbouring valley of Nazca.

Dr. Saunders repeated, lines had no practical purpose, most likely, spiritual and ritual purposes.