Ruins of the Inca temple at the Sacsayhuaman archeological park near Cuzco

Archaeologists in Peru have discovered the ruins of an ancient temple, road and irrigation systems at a fortress overlooking the Inca capital of Cuzco

Oscar Rodriguez, said the temple, on the periphery of the Sacsayhuaman fortress, included 11 rooms thought to have held mummies and idols

Rodriguez's team of archaeologists believe the structures predate the Inca empire, but were significantly developed and expanded by the civilisation

"It's from both the Inca and pre-Inca cultures - it has a sequence,"

"The Incas entered and changed the form of the temple, as it initially had a more rustic architecture."

Archaeologists are still waiting for the results of carbon-dating tests

The Inca empire, based in Cuzco, flourished along the western edge of South America during the 1400s, prior to the arrival of the Spanish in the next century

to unearth an advanced hydraulic syste