📷 David Edgar · CC BY-SA 3.0

Where in the world

Peru

Chankillo

Chavín · Peru

Field notes

civilizations: Chavín
types: Astronomical observatory
built: 300 BCE
occupied: 500 BCE — 200 BCE
country: Peru

The site

Chankillo is a monumental complex rising from the coastal desert of Peru's Casma-Sechin basin, built by the Casma/Sechin culture around the third century BCE. Its most remarkable structure is the Thirteen Towers, a solar observatory whose ridge-line of towers tracks the sun across the year. Set alongside a hilltop fort and gathering areas, this UNESCO World Heritage site ranks among the oldest known astronomical observatories in the Americas.

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