Aerial view of Chankillo †

After Sechin, we drove to Chankillo (or Chanquillo) to get our first look at the site that would be our home for the next two weeks. Chankillo dates from the Formative Period (c. 500 BC) and is located 15 km south of the city of Casma. The ruins are commonly called a fort, but scientists continue to debate its purpose. While its ringed walls imply a defensive structure, other elements bring that into question. Some archaeologists, including many on our team, believe that the site may have served more as a ritual fortress than as a defensive structure.

Still, Chankillo is imposing. Rising some 300 meters up from the desert floor, it is perched straddling a hill. Its three concentric walls are permeated by baffled entrances, five on the outer wall, four on the next wall, and three on the innermost wall. The doors open into 90-degree corridors that imply a defensive purpose. However, door slots are found on the outside walls, indicating that doors were tied closed from the outside, adding more fuel to the debate about Chankillo's purpose.

Thirteen Towers sit on a hillcrest across the plain from Chankillo. Each tower is 2-6 meters high, and the construction closely resembles the masonry technique used in the fortress. The number thirteen has always suggested a connection with the lunar calendar. This summer, the archaeologists on my team discovered that the towers were used as a solar calendar. In March 2007, Ghezzi and a collaborator published the findings in the journal Science.

A view of Chankillo with fog-shrouded mountains in the background (click for larger version)		The Thirteen Towers, as viewed from Chankillo (click for larger version). Note wall structures in front of and behind the towers.
An excavated doorway. Note the excellent preservation of the wooden lentils.		Another view of the fort, with concentric walls and towers visible
The Thirteen Towers, as viewed from the north.		Chankillo, as viewed from the north in the valley floor.

† Top-Left Photo Credit: Chavin and the Origins of Andean Civilization, Richard L. Burger

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