Mystery of the 13 Towers Solved

March 7th, 2007

Clocks and calendars are one of my long standing fascinations. Because time cannot be measured directly, there is an endless creativity displayed in timepieces that never ceases to amaze me. From the humble sundial to atomic clocks holding strontium atoms in a 3D laser mesh, the number of different solutions to the riddle of measuring passing time eloquently demonstrates the full breadth of human ingenuity and imagination.

As such, it gave me great pleasure to read that the Thirteen Towers of Chankillo, Peru, have been shown to be an ancient calendar - over 2,300 years old! 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.”

Can you imagine being anything as cool as an archaeoastronomer? Didn’t think so.

The Thirteen Towers are a series of rectangular structures, each no more than 125m² in size, that run north-south along the crest of a low hill. Set a little over 200m away to the east and west are observation posts. From these positions, the span of the towers matches the change in position of the sunrise and sunset throughout the year. By noting which tower the sun fell behind, the ancient astronomers could calculate what time of year it was. As viewed from the western observation point, the sun would rise to left of the left-most tower at mid-winter, and to the right of the right-most tower in mid-summer.

I enjoyed this not just because it was an elegant and simple solution to the calendar problem, but also because it demonstrates a fusion of architecture and science, much like Stonehenge, or the awesome Jantar Mantar observatories in India. These are functional buildings, scientific instruments on a grand scale, and yet are also triumphs of engineering and construction. After all, will your wristwatch be ticking in the year 4307?

Entry Filed under: General

Permanent Link  |    |    |    |    |