A team of archaeologists in the Peruvian Andes have recently uncovered a 500-year-old Inca bathing facility that they think might have been used by the upper echelon of the ancient empire that once exerted control over a significant part of South America.

Found near the "House of the Inca" in the Huanuco Pampa archaeological zone in central Peru, local archaeologists believe that the bath may have served a religious purpose for high-ranking members of the Inca empire, which 500 years ago extended from southern Ecuador to the center of Chile.

Luis Paredes Sanchez, project manager at Huanuco Pampa, said the structure was similar to "more hierarchical, restricted and sacred spaces within the Inca administrative centers because rather than having a utilitarian or hygienic function, they also served for religious functions and worshiping ancestors."

The "finely carved" bath averages two meters in depth, with independent pools and spillways and a central passage taking water into a drainage duct that divides the room into two small platforms, or "benches" for the Inca, Peru's culture ministry said in a statement.

The Huanuco Pampa archaeological site is part of the Qhapaq Nan project, a complex 25,000-kilometer-long road network that links Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, Bolivia and Argentina. The road system was declared a World Heritage Site in 2014.

Peru is home to hundreds of archaeological sites across the country, including the Machu Picchu citadel in the Inca capital of Cusco, and the Nasca lines, massive designs drawn in Inca's coastal desert region over 1,500 years ago.