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Chankillo or Chanquillo is an ancient monument
complex in the Peruvian coastal desert. The ruins
include the hilltop Chankillo Castillo, the nearby
Thirteen Towers and residential and gathering areas. The
Thirteen Towers were proposed to have been a solar
observatory built in the 4th century BC. in the
March 2, 2007, issue of
Science.
The Thirteen Towers of Chankillo (see the
illustration above) course 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 infers that some activities of the ancient
civilization may have been regulated a solar calendar.
Ancient solar observatory found in Peru
Friday, 2 March 2007. Source: Reuters by Maggie Fox
A line of 13 stone towers discovered on a hillside in
Peru forms part of an ancient solar observatory that had
a major role in society centuries before the Incas,
scientists say.
The 2300-year-old site, the oldest in the Americas,
points to a sophisticated culture that used the dramatic
alignment of the Sun and the structures for political
and ceremonial effects, the researchers write today in
the journal
Science.
The site, called the Thirteen Towers of Chankillo,
precisely spans the annual rising and setting arcs of
the Sun when viewed from two specially constructed
observation points.
 "Thousands of people could have gathered to watch
impressive solar events. These events could have been
manipulated for a political agenda," says lead author
Ivan Ghezzi.
He made the discovery while a graduate student at Yale
University and is now archaeological director of the
National Institute for Culture in Peru.
For instance, at the time of the summer solstice, the
longest day of the year, the Sun rises just to the left
of the northernmost tower, Ghezzi says.
Chankillo is a large ceremonial centre laid out over
several square kilometres. It has a heavily fortified
hilltop structure, thick walls and parapets.
But no one quite understood a 300-metre-long line of
towers that sits on a nearby hill like spines on a
dragon's back.
Ghezzi and colleagues say they have figured it out.
"Since the 19th century there was speculation that the
13-tower array could be lunar demarcation. But no one
followed up on it," Ghezzi says.
He tested the idea while studying military structures at
the site, which dates to the 4th century BC.
But it took him several years to contact Professor Clive
Ruggles, of the University of Leicester, a leading UK
authority on archaeoastronomy, for verification.
"In the five-hour drive to the towers I could see that
he was a little sceptical," Ghezzi says.
"When he got there and made a few measurements he
realised that from the points we were showing him, the
alignments worked out perfectly."
Ruggles, co-author on the paper, says often such claims
do not pan out. But this one did.
"The fact that, as seen from these two points, the
towers just span the solar rising and setting arcs
provides the clearest possible indication that they were
built specifically to facilitate sunrise and sunset
observations throughout the seasonal year," he says.
Ghezzi says little is known of the people who built
Chankillo. They pre-date the Incas by centuries.
But he is not surprised that such an ancient observatory
was discovered.
"Peru is one of the unexplored archaeological frontiers
in the world," he says.
He is also not surprised by the sophistication.
"The astronomical knowledge behind Chankillo could have
been maintained by much simpler means," Ghezzi says.
"This kind of knowledge is essential for survival: to
navigate, to follow animals and be able to come back to
the place of your origin, to keep track of seasons. We
have to find other reasons to explain why a group of
people would go to such great lengths as to construct
such monumental towers on top of a hill."
There is much evidence to show the Incas used the Sun's
movements for political demonstrations of power.
Towers point to ancient Sun cult
The oldest solar observatory in the Americas has been
found, suggesting the existence of early, sophisticated
Sun cults, scientists report.
March 1, 2007 Source:
BBC News
It comprises a group of 2,300-year-old structures, known
as the Thirteen Towers, which are found in the Chankillo
archaeological site, Peru.
The towers span the annual rising and setting arcs of
the Sun, providing a solar calendar to mark special
dates.
The study is published in the journal Science.
 Clive Ruggles, professor of archaeoastronomy at
Leicester University, UK, said: "These towers have been
known to exist for a century or so. It seems
extraordinary that nobody really recognised them for
what they were for so long.
"I was gobsmacked when I saw them for the first time -
the array of towers covers the entire solar arc."
The Thirteen Towers of Chankillo run from north to south
along the ridge of a low hill within the site; they are
relatively well-preserved and each has a pair of inset
staircases leading to the summit.
The rectangular structures, between 75 and 125 square
meters (807-1,345 sq ft) in size, are regularly spaced -
forming a "toothed" horizon with narrow gaps at regular
intervals.
About 230m (750ft) to the east and west are what
scientists believe to be two observation points. From
these vantages, the 300m- (1,000ft-) long spread of the
towers along the horizon corresponds very closely to the
rising and setting positions of the Sun over the year.
"For example," said Professor Ruggles, "if you were
stood at the western observing point, you would see the
Sun coming up in the morning, but where it would appear
along the span of towers would depend on the time of the
year."
"So, on the summer solstice, which is in December in
Peru, you would see the Sun just to the right of the
right-most tower; for the winter solstice, in June, you
would see the Sun rise to the left of the left-most
tower; and in-between, the Sun would move up and down
the horizon."
This means the ancient civilization could have regulated
a calendar, he said, by keeping track of the number of
days it took for the Sun to move from tower to tower.
Sun cults
 The site where the towers are based is about four square
kilometres (1.5 square miles) in size, and is believed
to be a ceremonial centre that was occupied in the 4th
Century BC. It is based at the coast of Peru in the
Casma-Sechin River Basin and contains many buildings and
plazas, as well as a fortified temple that has attracted
much attention.
The authors of the paper, who include Professor Ivan
Ghezzi of the National Institute of Culture, Peru,
believe the population was an ancient Sun cult and the
observatory was used to mark special days in their solar
calendar.
Stone
Towers Are Decoded as Earliest Solar Observatory in the
Americas
Ancient
Peruvians built towers to track arc of sun
March 6, 2007 Source:
The New
York Times by John Noble Wilford
Early people in Peru, like others in antiquity, went to
great lengths to track the rising and setting of the sun
through the seasons as a guide for agriculture, an
object of worship and a mystical demonstration of a
ruler’s power.
Archaeologists have now discovered that a line of
elaborate stone towers erected on a low ridge by
Peruvians 2,300 years ago formed an artificial toothed
horizon with narrow gaps at regular intervals for making
alignments almost exactly spanning the annual arc of the
sun.
This is the earliest known solar observatory in the
Americas. The site precedes by several centuries similar
monuments by the Maya in Central America and by almost
two millenniums solar observatories of the Inca
civilization in Peru.
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