Chankillo
Encyclopedia
Chankillo is an ancient monumental complex in the Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....

vian coastal desert, found in the Casma-Sechin
Casma Valley
The Casma Valley, a coastal valley situated about north of Lima, Peru, lies between the towns of Chimbote and Huarmey. It is notable for the grand scale of numerous archaeological sites, including stone-faced pyramids and the Thirteen Towers of Chankillo. Sechin Alto is the largest American...

Oasis in the Ancash Department of Peru. The ruins include the hilltop Chankillo fort, the nearby Thirteen Towers solar observatory, and residential and gathering areas. The Thirteen Towers are believed to have been a solar observatory built in the 4th century BC. As of 2008, the culture that produced Chankillo is unnamed.Atwood

The site covers about four square kilometres (1.5 square miles) and is believed to be a fortified temple that was occupied in the 4th Century BC.

The Thirteen Towers solar observatory

The Thirteen Towers of Chankillo run north to south along a ridge of a low hill and are regularly spaced, forming a "toothed" horizon with narrow gaps at regular intervals. To the east and west investigators found two observation points. From these vantages, the 300m long spread of the towers along the horizon corresponds very closely to the rising and setting positions of the Sun over the year. This suggests that some activities of the ancient civilization were regulated by a solar calendar.

The towers had been known to travelers for centuries, but the astronomical function of the towers was discovered in 2007 by Iván Ghezzi and Clive Ruggle.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK