<< Text Pages >> Marcahuasi - Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature in Peru
Submitted by Andy B on Wednesday, 29 July 2015 Page Views: 1342
Natural PlacesSite Name: MarcahuasiCountry: Peru Type: Natural Stone / Erratic / Other Natural Feature
Nearest Town: Lima
Latitude: 11.788889S Longitude: 76.573611W
Condition:
5 | Perfect |
4 | Almost Perfect |
3 | Reasonable but with some damage |
2 | Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site |
1 | Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks |
0 | No data. |
-1 | Completely destroyed |
5 | Superb |
4 | Good |
3 | Ordinary |
2 | Not Good |
1 | Awful |
0 | No data. |
5 | Can be driven to, probably with disabled access |
4 | Short walk on a footpath |
3 | Requiring a bit more of a walk |
2 | A long walk |
1 | In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find |
0 | No data. |
5 | co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates |
4 | co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map |
3 | co-ordinates scaled from a bad map |
2 | co-ordinates of the nearest village |
1 | co-ordinates of the nearest town |
0 | no data |
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Marcahuasi is a plateau in the Andes Mountains, located east of Lima, on the mountain range that rises to the right bank of the Rímac River. This mountain range dominates the landscape at 4,000 m above sea level and the place is known for curious huge shapes of human faces, animals visible in granite rock.
The place was first investigated by Daniel Ruzo during the 1950s and in an area of about 3 km2, several hundred curious shapes are found, which may be natural formations. The place is located at a height of about 12500 feet in the Andes Mountain.
The plateau originated from a volcanic reaction. It is about 4 square kilometres in area, and is located almost 4,000 meters high in Huarochirí Province, east of Lima, Peru. Marcahuasi is home to a unique set of huge granite rocks with curious shapes resembling human faces, animals, and religious symbols. There are many theories as to their origins, including the assertion that their unusual shapes formed naturally through erosion. Some argue that they are sculptures shaped by ancient people but archaeologists state that the shapes are the result of erosion over centuries. There are some small pre-Columbian structures, which are tombs of ancient people and some of which are robbed and vandalised.
There is also a collection of ruins on the north side of the plateau. Over 50 structures still stand in varying states of decay. The doorways are very small, some three feet high. Most of the structures are narrow since the use of arches was not known, therefore spans had to be covered with suitable rock that may have been quarried locally. There are also what appear to be burial tombs on the outskirts of the settlement.
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