Archaeologists believe the kids, born into the Chimú empire, were sacrificed in a ritual to stop disasters linked to the El Niño phenomenon.
EXPERTS believe they have found the burial site of the largest child sacrifice ritual ever recorded.
The skeletons of 227 kids, who were slaughtered at the same time, have been uncovered in a mass grave on the north coast of Peru.
Archaeologists believe the kids, born into the Chimú empire, were sacrificed in a ritual to stop disasters linked to the El Niño phenomenon.
The youngsters, between the ages of four and 14, are understood to have been brutally killed up to 1,400 years ago.
Some still have skin, hair and were found to have been wearing silver earmuffs.
The religious leaders who carried out the killings were part of the Chimú empire, a powerful society that predated the Incas.
Archaeologists found the mass slaughter site in the Pampa La Cruz sector in Huanchaco, a coastal municipality of Trujillo, north of Lima.
“We are the largest place where remains of sacrificed children have been found. There is no other” in the world, archaeologist Feren Castillo told AFP.
It is thought the youngsters were sacrificed to appease gods and stop bad weather.
“They were sacrificed to appease the El Niño phenomenon, we have found more evidence of rainfall in the findings,” Mr Castillo added.
This weather phenomenon, which occurs when the Pacific Ocean becomes very warm, can have disastrous impacts in Peru and other countries.
In 2017, El Niño triggered flooding and landslides that killed 162 and destroyed thousands of homes.
The Huanchaco child grave is not the first mass discovery of kids slaughtered in Pampa La Cruz.
In June 2018, remains of 56 children were discovered.