Tiahuanaco
Located in Bolivia, South America, over two miles high into the Andes Mountains, upon a remote hard to get to, hard to find, wind swept desolate plateau is the ancient pre-Inca city of Tiahuanaco pronounced (Ti-wan-ak-u).
The amazing ruins of the lost ancient city were named as UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2000 and for good reason. It is a site that is home to some of the most enigmatic remarkable ruins that have ever been found on Earth.
The city is argued by some to be almost 17,000 years old. By conventional standards, even modern archaeologists agree it is the oldest civilization on the planet. Some of the massive construction dates back over 12,ooo years. The city was built on the shore of Lake Titicaca which is now miles away. A pre-Incan mystery civilization that worshipped the God Viracocha and influenced along the years the development and myths of other South American people lived here.
Advanced or just plain ingenious, the construction that took place here utilized remarkable techniques. The massive stones were in place essentially stapled together using copper I-shaped metal clips.
Here is a quick summary of the top 5 most awesome archaeological features at Tiahuanaco.
5. The Doorway to ForeverA solitary doorway to nowhere, this megalithic solitary structure stands welcoming the wayward visitor as it has for thousands of years.
4. The Acapana Pyramid
It has a footprint 656 feet square and is 55 feet high. It is in ruins but still pretty awesome that there is a step-pyramid here.
3. The Friar
The stature ranks in the top 10 mysterious artifacts of all time. This unidentified person stands 7 feet tall and holds unknown and enigmatic objects clutched in both hands. The nickname comes from the Spanish who called it El Fraile.
2. The Courtyard of Heads
Okay. It's really called the Kalasasaya Temple. Like a crazed macabre movie set sunken into the ruins of Tiahuanaco, is a courtyard unlike any other found on Earth. This enclosed sunken courtyard has all four walls inset with human heads carved of stone. It has a creepiness factor of 10. It's surreal. Each realistic face is individual, no two are alike.
1. The Gateway of the SunA monumental and unique piece of architecture, this is the piece de la resistance at the Tiahuanaco site. Its original location within the site is disputed, so sadly the exact astro alignments are unknown.
It is carved from a single 10 ton block of Andesite Granite. The God Viracocha is seen in the top middle holding bolts of lighting in one hand, thunder in the other. His cheeks have tears carved into them, a theme here, as the Friar has them too.
The Gateway is believed to be the world's oldest calendar. Into it is carved over 40 winged effigies and over 30 human faces, 16 of which have condor shaped heads. It also includes a dinosaur like creature which, of course, sparks debate.
Tiahuanaco is absolutely in ruin, hard to get to, not friendly for tourists and yet if one sets foot here - one steps into an unrivaled pre-historic marvel.
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Glad you could make it today...see you tomorrow
So Beautiful..
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