ANCON  , a small

village and bathing-place on the coast of Peru, 22 M . N. of Lima by rail . The bay is formed by two projecting headlands and is one of the best on the coast . It has a gently sloping beach of fine sand and has been a popular bathing-place since the time of President Balta, although the country behind it is arid and absolutely barren . At some time previous to the discovery of America, Ancon had a large aboriginal population . Traces of terraces on the southern headland can still be seen, and the sand-covered hills and slopes overlooking the bay contain extensive burial-grounds which were systematic-ally explored in 1875 by Messrs W . Reiss and A . Stubel (see Reiss and Stifbei's The Necropolis of Ancon in Peru, translated by A . H . Keane, 3 vols., Berlin, 188o-1887) . In modern times Ancon has been the scene of several important historical events . Its anchorage was used by Lord Cochrane in 182o during his attacks on Callao; it was the landing-place of an invading Chilean army in 1838; it was bombarded by the Chileans in 188o; and in 1883 it was the meeting-place of the Chilean and Peruvian commissioners who drew up the treaty of Ancon, which ended the war between Chile and Peru .