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Chankillo Archaeoastronomical Complex
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How it came to be
The Chankillo Archaeoastronomical Complex, from 250–200 BC, lies in the Casma Valley in the desert of Peru's north-central coast. It comprises a triple-walled hilltop complex known as the Fortified Temple, two building complexes called the Observatory and the Administrative Centre, a line of 13 towers along a ridge, and the hill of Cerro Mucho Malo, which serves as a natural marker.
The Thirteen Towers stand along a low north–south ridge for about 300 m, forming a toothed horizon with regular gaps. Seen from observation points to the east and west, the sun rises behind the tower at one end on the winter solstice and moves along the line until it reaches the other end six months later. By watching the sunrise or sunset from the right tower, people could fix the date to within a day or two.
The towers had been known to travellers for 200 years, but they were identified as an astronomical site only in 2007, by Iván Ghezzi and Clive Ruggles. They may be the earliest known solar observatory in the Americas, and the complex was inscribed as a World Heritage site in July 2021.
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