She died in her twenties some 1,700 years ago and ruled over a desert valley in ancient Peru, where her elaborately tattooed body was wrapped in 20 layers of fabric and buried with weapons and gold objects.

But a glimpse of the former priestess, the Lady of Cao, can now be seen in a replica of her face unveiled by culture officials and archaeologists on Monday.

Using 3D forensics technology, the replica was based on the Lady of Cao’s skull structure and took 10 months to create.

A glimpse of the former Peruvian priestess, the Lady of Cao, can now be seen in a replica of her face (pictured) unveiled by culture officials and archaeologists in Lima, Peru, on Monday

The international team of researchers behind the effort, led by experts at Peru’s El Brujo museum where the mummy is currently on display, first took pictures of the Lady of Cao’s remains with a state-of-the-art, handheld laser scanner.

The scanner was designed for industrial use and is now commonly used in forensic investigations.

The scanned data was then entered into a computer, which digitally stripped away her facial skin to reveal her skull bones.

Using different software, the team then placed ’tissue-depth markers’ on the skull – another common forensics technique – and added tissues to the model based on average facial structures worked out from other Peruvian mummies.

‘It’s the exact same process you’d go through hands-on in the traditional method, adding clay to a model, but it’s rolled into the digital environment now,’ Joe Mullins, a consultant on the project, told National Geographic.

The discovery of the Lady of Cao’s mummified remains in 2005 shattered the belief that the ancient Moche society, which occupied the Chicama Valley from about 100 to 700 AD, was patriarchal.

Several Moche female mummies have been found since in graves with objects denoting a high political and religious standing.

Archaeologists believe the Lady of Cao died due to complications of childbirth but otherwise lived a healthy life.

Her arms and legs were covered with tattoos of snakes, spiders and other supernatural motifs.

The Lady of Cao died in her twenties some 1,700 years ago and ruled over a desert valley in ancient Peru, where her elaborately tattooed body (pictured) was wrapped in 20 layers of fabric and buried with weapons and gold objects

Discovered near her funerary bundle was a strangled adolescent, who might have been a sacrifice to guide her into the afterlife, according to the museum at the El Brujo archaeological site where she was found.

The Lady of Cao is a reminder of the complex societies that thrived in what is now Peru long before the Inca empire dominated the Andes or Europeans arrived in the Americas.

The Moche built irrigation canals to grow crops in the desert and were known for their ceramics and goldwork that have been looted from their gravesites.

Little is known about the group because they left almost no written records and only mummified the highest ranking members of their society.

The group is known for their elaborate artworks, murals and metalwork as well as their complex monumental architecture.

Using 3D forensics technology, the replica was based on the Lady of Cao’s skull structure and took 10 months to create

The aristocrat first had her pictures taken with a state-of-the-art, handheld laser scanner used in forensic investigations. The scanned data (pictured) was then entered into a computer, which digitally stripped away her facial skin to reveal her skull bones

Their culture was sophisticated, and their pottery and metalwork depicts scenes of hunting, fishing, fighting, Sєxual encounters and lavish ceremonies.

The replica of the Lady of Cao, a collaboration that included archaeologists, the Wiese Foundation and global imaging company FARO Technologies, will be displayed in Peru’s culture ministry in the capital Lima through July 16.

The goal, said Culture Minister Salvador del Solar, was to bring the world closer to one of Peru’s best archaeological finds and remind Peruvians of their rich cultural heritage.

‘Its relevance is really incalculable,’ Mr del Solar said of the oval-shaped face with high cheekbones on display under a golden crown.

‘We can now show the world her face, a face that Peruvians see ourselves in.’

Using different software, the team then placed ’tissue-depth markers’ on the skull – another common forensics technique – and added tissues to the model based on average facial structures worked out from other Peruvian mummies. Pictured is the final reconstructed head

The discovery of the Lady of Cao’s mummified remains in 2005 shattered the belief that the ancient Moche society, which occupied the Chicama Valley from about 100 to 700 AD, was patriarchal

Archaeologists believe the Lady of Cao died due to complications of childbirth but otherwise lived a healthy life. Pictured is the ancient aristocrats remains (bottom) and her reconstructed head (top) on display in Lima, Peru

The Peruvian mummy’s arms and legs were covered with tattoos of snakes, spiders and other supernatural motifs

Discovered near the priestess’s funerary bundle was a strangled adolescent, who might have been a sacrifice to guide her into the afterlife, according to the museum at the El Brujo archaeological site where she was found

The Lady of Cao is a reminder of the complex societies that thrived in what is now Peru long before the Inca empire dominated the Andes or Europeans arrived in the Americas

The Moche – the ancient Peruvian society the Lady of Cao may have ruled – built irrigation canals to grow crops in the desert and were known for their ceramics and goldwork that have been looted from their gravesites

The Lady of Cao is a name given to a female Moche mummy discovered in El Brujo, Peru, in 2005