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Chankillo solar observatory and ceremonial centre is inscribed on the

• World Heritage List

as “Chankillo archaeoastronomical complex” (property no. 1624).

The prehistoric solar observatory and ceremonial centre at Chankillo in Peru, including its famous thirteen towers, is “an outstanding example of ancient landscape timekeeping, a practice of ancient civilizations worldwide, which used visible natural or cultural features. [It] permitted the time of year to be accurately determined not just on one date but throughout the seasonal year. Unlike architectural alignments upon a single astronomical target found at many ancient sites around the world, the line of towers spans the entire annual solar rising and setting arcs as viewed, respectively, from two distinct observing points, one of which is still clearly visible above ground. The astronomical facilities at Chankillo represent a masterpiece of human creative genius.”

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