Chanquillo
Chankillo | |
 Thirteen Towers of Chankillo, viewed from the fortress | |
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| Alternative name | Chankillo |
|---|---|
| Location | Ancash Region, Peru |
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| Type | Fortified sanctuary |
| Part of | Casma/Sechin culture |
| Area | 4 km2 (1.5 sq mi) |
| History | |
| Founded | 250 BC |
| Site notes | |
| Archaeologists | Ivan Ghezzi |
| Ownership | Ministry of Culture of Peru |
| Management | Unidad Ejecutora Chankillo |
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| Official name | Chankillo Archaeoastronomical Complex |
| Criteria | Cultural: (i), (iv) |
| Reference | 1624 |
| Inscription | 2021 (44th Session) |
| Area | 4,480 ha (11,100 acres) |
| Buffer zone | 43,990 ha (108,700 acres) |
Chankillo[1][2][3][4][5][6][7][8] is an ancient monumental complex in the Peruvian coastal desert, found in the Casma-Sechin basin in the Áncash Department of Peru. The ruins include the hilltop Chankillo fort, the nearby Thirteen Towers solar observatory, and residential and gathering areas. The Thirteen Towers have been interpreted as an astronomical observatory built in the third century BC.[6][9] The culture that produced Chankillo is called the Casma/Sechin culture or the Sechin Complex.[citation needed] The site was awarded UNESCO World Heritage status in July 2021.[10]
The site covers about four square kilometres (1.5 square miles) and has been interpreted as a fortified temple.[7]
The Thirteen Towers solar observatory
[edit | edit source]The regularly-spaced thirteen towers of Chankillo were constructed atop the ridge of a low hill running near north to south, forming a "toothed" horizon with narrow gaps at regular intervals. To the east and west investigators designated two possible 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,[9] albeit they are not all visible. On the winter solstice, the sun would rise behind the leftmost tower of Chankillo and rise behind each of the towers until it reached the rightmost tower six months later on the summer solstice, marking the passage of time.[11] The Thirteen Towers of Chankillo could be the earliest known observatory in the Americas. Inhabitants of Chankillo would have been able to determine an accurate date, with an error of a day or two, by observing the sunrise or sunset from the correct tower.[12] A contemporary site in Chincha Valley, Peru, of the late Paracas culture, which also marked the solstice, has recently been examined.[13]
The towers had been known to travellers for 200 years but were not determined to be an astronomical site until 2007 by Iván Ghezzi and Clive Ruggles.[14]
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See also
[edit | edit source]References
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- ^ a b BBC/Open University documentary, Broadcast March 2011, Downloadable demonstration of Towers at sunrise.
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- ^ Atwood, Roger. " "Solar Observatory at Chankillo, Peru." Archaeology. Volume 61 Number 1, January/February 2008. https://www.archaeology.org/0801/topten/solar_observatory.html.
External links
[edit | edit source]
- 3D reconstruction of the site
- Chankillo, Peru, Ancient Solar Observatory?
- Towers point to ancient Sun cult, BBC
- Giant Solar Calendar Measures Time, BBC
- Early Monumental Architecture on the Peruvian Coast
- Yale University article: Peruvian Citadel is Site of Earliest Ancient Solar Observatory in the Americas and slide show
- View from the air on the Chankillo site
- High-resolution image of the Thirteen Towers
- Wonders of the Universe, Prof. Brian Cox, BBC (may be region locked to UK only)
