Once the site began to languish, following the abandon- ment of the residential sector in the wake of flooding and encroaching sand dunes, the site took on its modern appearance and the plain between the two Huacas was used mainly as a cemetery. In this area archaeologists found burials and offerings dating to the later Wari and Chimú periods.

Some sectors on the Huacas themselves were also used as burial grounds, although these appear to have been reserved for important people. The fact that much effort went into dismantling adobe bricks to make way for the tombs indicates that the religious and ritual importance of the Huacas lingered well into post-Moche times.