tiwanaku the city that time forgot

Tiwanaku - a city lost in time. Part 2

Above, old photograph of the Gate of the Sun, (Stubel 1892.) In this photo, the base of the monument is already covered by

several feet of soiland the two halves of the gate are misaligned.

The gate is said to have been at one time hit by lightning, splitting it into two parts as above. However, according to

Posnansky VIII "This break was not caused by a thunderbolt, as people suppose, but rather was certainly made by the celebrated

commissions of the clergy already mentioned, which travelled through the Altiplano with the apparant intent of destroying all

the objects, inscriptions and sculptures which had any connection with the ancient cult and religious beliefs of the aborigines, but

who were nothing more than vulgar treasure seekers. ... 'Whatever can be burned is burned, the rest is broken'."

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Above, old photograph of the Gate of the Sun. The two halves of the gate are misaligned.

In this photo, the base of the monument is already covered by several feet of soil.

Above, Gate of the Sun as it appeared to George Squier, 1877.

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Squier informes us that when D'Orbigny visited the monument in 1833, it had at that time already fallen down. Squier gives these dimensions... "13 feet 5 inches long, 7 feet 2 inches high above-ground, and 18 inches thick. Through its centre is cut a door-way, 4 feet 6 inches high, and 2 feet 9 inches wide."

"Above this doorway, and as it now stands on its south-east side or front, are four lines of sculpture in low-relief, like the Egyptian plain sculptures, and a central figure, immediately over the doorway, sculptured in high-relief. ...The stone itself is a dark and exceedingly hard trachyte. It is faced with a precision that no skill can excel ; its lines are perfectly drawn, and its right angles turned with an accuracy that the most careful geometer could not surpass. Barring some injuries and defacements, and some slight damages by weather, I do not believe there exists a better piece of stone -cutting, the material considered, on this or the other continent. The front, especially the part covered by sculpture, has a fine finish, as near a true polish as trachyte can be made to bear. The lower line of sculpture is 7½ inches broad, and is unbroken ; the three above it are 8 inches high, cut up in cartouches or squares, of equal width, but interrupted in the centre, immediately over the door-way, by the figure in high-relief to which I have alluded. This figure, with its ornaments, covers a space of 32 by 21½ inches. There are consequently three ranges or tiers of squares on each side of this figure, eight in each range, or forty-eight in all. The figures represented in these squares have human bodies, feet, and hands ; each holds a sceptre ; they are winged ; but the upper and lower series have human heads wearing crowns, represented in profile, while the heads of the sixteen figures in the line between them have the heads of condors."

See also page on Tiwanaku Cubits

We can note that in the time of Squier, the two broken halves of the monument are misaligned and it is also substantially buried in the earth, so his figure for the height of the monument and the height of the doorway does not take this into account. Also his estimated width of 13 ft 5 ins appears to be too wide, compared to analysis of modern photographs. On Squier's map of the site, the monument occupies the same position as it does today. Squier - "I very much question if this remarkable stone occupies its original position. How far it has sunk in the ground it was impossible for me to determine, for the earth was frozen hard, and we had no means of digging down to ascertain. D'Orbigny, as I have already said, states it was fallen when he visited it. Who has since raised it, and for what purpose, it is impossible to say. No one that we could find either knew or cared to know anything about it. It seems to me not unlikely that it had a position in the hollow square of the structure called the Temple, in some building corresponding with that called the Hall of Justice."

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Above, George Squier's plan of Tiwanaku 1877.

Posnansky says that the Gate of the Sun was originally found laying face down on the ground, which helped protect the carved figures from erosion. " The Sun Door which was found lying on its face on the ground, has been preserved in wonderful condition with all its inscriptions; but its back, and especially the end exposed to the adverse atmospheric conditions, shows an enormous wearing away. It should be pointed out that the block from which this notable monument was carved, is composed of andesitic hornblende, vitreous and very hard lava, which, polished as it was in that period, required several thousands of years to wear away in the form in which we see it today."

According to one report, in 1825 Jose Antonio de Sucre - Bolivia's second president and liberator - ordered the Gateway of the Sun at Tiwanaku to be dug out of the ground and raised as symbolic of the new nation (Ponce 1981).

The following photo shows the gate being dug out in 1903.

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Above, Gate of the Sun being dug out of ground by French expedition headed by Count G de Créqui-Montfort 1903. The

photo shows the reverse of the monument with its depth below ground and the two halves misaligned.

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Above, reverse of the Gate of the Sun, reconstruction envisaged by Edmund Kiss, 1937.

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Above, the French mission of 1903 headed by Count G de Créqui-Montfort, carried out excavations at Tiwanaku. Many of the

pieces uncovered by them were subsequently carried off by local people and the destruction continued even up to the time of

Posnansky, so that little of what was uncovered in 1903 exists today.

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Above, excavations at Tiwanaku 1903. It is hard to imagine such a great city existed here and that most of the stones above ground

were carried off or smashed to provide ballast for the nearby railway line.

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Above, pedestal excavated at Tiwanaku 1903.

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Above, Gate of the Sun being dug out of ground by French expedition headed by Count G de Créqui-Montfort 1903. The photo shows the face of the monument with the sculptures

highlighted with chalk.

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Above, Gate of the Sun in old time photo. In this photo the two broken halves of the gate have been realigned, presumably after re-setting by the French mission. Chasqui icons in three rows can

be clearly seen forming a block of three rows of five on either side of the central figure and eleven smaller icons in the freize

underneath. The design then repeats itself as if to be continued on additional walls to the side which no longer exists.

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Above, old time photo of the Sun Gate, it appears to have stones either side,

probably a corral wall was built around it as this time.

Above, detail of the Gate of the Sun showing the Chasqui figures in three rows, part of the freize underneath

and the central figure on the right in this photo

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Above, the Sun Gate today.

Above, detail of the calendar icons showing the central weeping figure, the chasquis in rows of three and the lower freize with 11 icons representing the 11 pillars of the calendar wall.. This panel

measures 100" wide according to H.S. Bellamy. This could be interpretated as 4 x sacred cubits of 25", or as five cubits of 20"

wide.

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Above, detail of the lower freize by Stubel, 1892.

Above, detail of the lower freize by Stubel, 1892. The left hand icon represents the left hand pillar on the calendar wall, when the

sun reached this pillar it would be the time of the solstice, the sun would appear to stand still on the horizon before beginning

its journey northwards, it was a time of festival as marked by the trumpeter.

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Above, detail of the solstice trumpeters, drawing of H.S. Bellamy.

Above, detail of the freize icons, based on drawings of H.S. Bellamy.

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Above, detail of the freize icons, based on drawings of H.S. Bellamy.

Above, detail of the central Viracocha icon, drawing of H.S. Bellamy.

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Above, reconstruction from Edmund Kiss (1937) of how the Gate of the Sun may have been incorporated into a wall and was part

of an entrance within the Kalasasaya compound. Note the number of chasquis with ten in each row per side and a total of 60 chasquis - so if each chasqui represents one year, the total

number of sixty chasquis represents the "Great Century" of the Muisca calendar, and an extra lunar month was added to the

calendar at the end of each 30 year period.

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Above, in the preceeding reconstruction by Edmund Kiss (1937) the upper rows of chasquis did not balance with the 11 chasqui heads on the lower freize since there was a portion of the lower

freize left over at each end, however we can extend them in Paintshop so that now there are 30 chasquis in each horizontal row, each row on the upper portion representing a period of 30 years after which an extra sidereal month had to be added to

balance the calendar giving 401 sidereal months as equal to 30 solar years.. On the lower freize, there are now 3 x complete

sections of 11 chasqui heads, each section representing one year and each three year period being equal to 40 sidereal lunar

months represented by 40 condor heads on the freize. The width of the carved panels now occupies a space of 300" or 10 great cubits of 30" or 12 sacred cubits of 25" or 15 x cubits of

20" (25 English feet).

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Above, reconstruction of how the west wall of inner compound could accommodate 25 of the sculptured panels, based upon a

modified drawing of Edmund Kiss (1937) and using width of terrace measurement recorded by Posnansky. The position of a viewing stone for observing the setting sun over the calendar

wall is also marked.

Above, George Squier measured the little figures called Chasquis and found them to be about 8 inches square. So each chasqui would be about 12 shusi square, that is if in Sumerian links of

7.92 inches....

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Above, detail of a chasqui on the Gate of the Sun.

Above, block of carved stone outside the museum entrance

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Above, this chasqui on a block of stone outside the museum measures 8 inches high by 7.5inches wide.

Not known whether this block is an original from Tiwanaku or modern recreation.

Above, this Tiwanaku gold mask shows the weeping god.

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Above, stones of the Kalasasaya as recorded by George Squier, 1877.

These appears to be the calendar stones seen from what today is the field behind the Kalasasaya,

the second stone from the left has fallen and the fifth from the right is missing, see also modern photo below.

The Kalasasaya called "the Temple" by George Squier, was described by Squier, "The structure called the Temple will claim our first attention ; primarily because it seems to be the oldest of the group, the type, perhaps, of the others, and because it is here we find the great monolithic sculptured gate-way of Tiahuanuco, which is absolutely unique, so far as our knowledge goes, on this continent. The body of the Temple forms a rectangle of 388 by 445 feet, defined, as I said before, by lines of erect stones, partly shaped by art. They are mostly of red sandstone, and of irregular size and height ; those at the corners being more carefully squared and tallest. For the most part, they are between 8 and 10 feet high, from 2 to 4 feet broad, and from 20 to 30 inches in thickness. The portions entering the ground, like those of our granite gate-posts, are largest, and left so for the obvious purpose of giving the stones greater firmness in their position. These stones, some of which have fallen and others disappeared, seem to have been placed, inclining slightly inwards, at approximately 15 feet apart, measuring from centre to centre, and they appear to have had a wall of rough stones built up between them, supporting a terre-plein of earth, about 8 feet above the general level of the plain. On its eastern side this terreplein had an apron or lower terrace 18 feet broad, along the edge of the central part of which were raised ten great stone pilasters, placed 15½ feet apart, all of which, perfectly aligned, are still standing, with a single exception. They are of varying heights, and no two agree in width or thickness. The one that is fallen, which was second in the line, measures 13 feet 8 inches in length by 5 feet 3 inches in breadth. It is partly buried in the earth, but shows 32 inches of thickness above-ground. Among those still erect the tallest is 14 feet by 4 feet 2 inches, and 2 feet 8 inches ; the shortest 9 feet by 2 feet 9 inches, and 2 feet 5 inches. These are

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less in dimension than the stones composing the inner cell or sanctum of Stonehenge, which range from 16 feet 3 inches to 21 feet 6 inches in height ; but they are nearly, if not quite, equal with those composing the outer circle of that structure. They are much more accurately cut than those of Stonehenge, the fronts being perfectly true, and the backs alone left rough or only partially worked. The tops of the taller ones have shoulders cut into them as if to receive architraves; and as this feature does not appear in the shorter ones, it may be inferred that their tops have been broken off, and that originally they were all of one length. And here I may call attention to another singular feature of this colonnade — namely, that the sides or edges of each erect stone are slightly cut away to within six inches of its face, so as to leave a projection of about an inch and a half, as if to retain in place any slab fitted between the stones, and prevent it from falling out- wards. The same feature is found in the stones surrounding the great mound or Fortress, where its purpose becomes obvious, as we shall soon see."

Note, Squier has counted 10 stones, not being aware of the missing stone laying in the field nor of the scheme of the Tiwanaku calendar, he also appears to make a mistake in describing the 10 stones as being to the east instead of the west of the Temple. Squier's dimensions for the Kalasasaya are 445ft long by 388ft broad, probably measuring to the inside of the western balcony wall and which scales exactly correct on the satellite photo. Posnansky's figures are 422.37ft x 388ft probably measuring to the western edge of a subdivision of the Kalasasaya platfrom as it exists today.

Above, stones of the calendar wall seen from outside at the time of the French mission of 1903. Posnansky considered this western balcony wall to belong to "the third period" and to have replaced an earlier wall "of the second period". The second stone from the

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left can be seen laying flat on the ground but the fifth stone from the right is missing.

Above, Stubel's plan of the calendar wall stones, 1892. His numbering omits the missing stone number 7 (stone E of

Posnansky) so that number 8 becomes number 7 and only 10 stones are counted in all, being unaware of the stone 'E' laying in

the field.

Above, workers at the position of the missing stone, 'E', view from outside the compound, Stubel, 1892.

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Above, stones and the rebuilt calendar wall seen from outside, note the fallen second stone from the left has been restored, but

the fifth stone from the right is still missing.

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Above, the missing stone from the calendar wall. - figs 31 and 31a Posnansky - "the block E which is missing in the balcony wall between the pillars F and D and which was found by the author (Posnansky) in the year 1943 some 250metres to the west serving as foundation for corral wall."

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Above, Oscar Corvison points out the missing stone, still in the field, 2000AD.

and gives the dimensions as 4.7m (15.4ft) x 1.2m (3.93ft).

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Above, old time photos of the stones of the calendar wall at time of excavations.

Comment by Posnansky - "The columns today have the appearance of crude stones planted in the ground. However, in their time they were not only carefully aligned and carved but on the sides facing the interior of the building

were magnificent symbolical inscriptions as can be seen on a piece that has fallen from one of them and on which a part of these drawings has been

miraculously saved, ... Because of the enormous age of these great pilasters which were the support of the walls, some of them have fallen down and others are so thin in certain parts that they threaten to fall over from one

moment to the next."

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Above, the calendar wall seen from inside the Kalasasaya.The pillar immediately left of centre is missing, and may be found

some distance out in the field behind the wall.

Above, artist's impression of the equinox sun setting over the calendar wall.

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The calendar wall (left) and the Sun Gate which holds the key to understanding the calendar. It is not the Sun Gate which is the

calendar, but the row of pillars built into the wall seen on the left of the photo.

At some time the Sun Gate was moved from the position where it was found to its present position next to the Calendar wall in the Kalasasaya. Posnansky thought that the original position was in the Kalasasaya itself, more or less in the centre and providing an

entrance from the "sanctissium" to the western section where observations could be made of the calendar wall. Posnsnaky - "The observation stone of the third period of the priests and

astronomers of Tihuanacu. It is located in the highest part of the Sun Temple and was planned as a base or foundation for a lower structure which in turn was to support above as a central block of

the Sun Temple the famous door, today called the sun Door of Tihuanacu. This block, which is in the highest part of the temple,

forms the crowning part of the external west wall of the "sanctissimum" and as such was supposed to serve, in our

opinion, as the base for the Sun Door; that is to say, when the base and the Sun Door were completely finished."

Others today think because of the style it was originally part of the Puma Punka complex. However, it is clear that whoever

originally moved it to its present position in the corner next to the calendar wall, must have understood its significence as a key

to the calendar.

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Arthur Posnansky recognised that the west wall of the Kalasasaya was a calendar, but wrongly assumed that the year was divided into 12 months of thirty days (based upon the Inca calendar). He has counted the central icon twice and arranged the months so

that in some instances they pass from pillar to pillar and in other instances they leapfrog over the pillars in order to make it fit his

interpretation (above).

By the time of the Inca empire, a calendar of 12 months of 30 days had been introduced, not to be confused with the original calendar of Tiwanaku and the Sun Gate. The Inca calendar is reported by Acosta and also Guaman Poma to have begun with the festival of Ccapac Raime in December, whereas the Aymara calendar is today still celebrated in Tiwanaku at the beginning of the Aymara New Year on 21st June.

See "Decoding the Tiwanaku calendar: the lost calendar of the Tiwanaku and Muisca" for more on the calendar.

The Inca Empire which spanned the length of the Andes was effectively brought to an end by the capture of their leader, Atahualpa by the Spanish conquistador, Francisco Pizarro at Cajamarca in 1532. The first conquistador to visit the site of Tiwanaku and write an account was Pedro Cieza de Leon who describes it in his "Chronica del Peru" of 1549.

Cieza de Leon records that the city was already long abandoned in the time of the first Inca, it had not been built by the Incas and the locals had no idea who had built it. He also recorded that the people of that region, that is to say, the Aymara, used a year of 10 months.

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The first recorded description of the Collao (region around Lake Titcaca)

by Cieza de Leon in 1549 describes a year of 10 months. This is consistent with an early Inca calendar of 10 months

using 6 towers to the east and 6 towers to the west of Cuzco.

It is also the same as the Tiwanaku calendar since a year of 10 months of 36 days is also

20 "half months" of 18 days or 40 "weeks" of 9 days.

Acosta tells us the Inca calendar was reformed by Pachacutec.... Perhaps it was at this time the Inca solar calendar was changed from the ancient 10 or 20 month division to the 12 month division which is more commonly spoken of, although at the same time the Inca also used a lunar calendar of 12 sidereal months, and 20 Inca "years" of 12 sidereal months was equal to 18 solar years.....

Above, at Chankillo in Peru, there still exists a row of thirteen solar towers - these would divide the year into 24 parts viewed

when the sun set or rose over the towers, making each division a half-month and every two towers a month of 30 days in a 12

month year.

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Above, in Tiwanaku, the 11 pillars divided the year into 20 "half-months" of 18 days

or 10 "months" of 36 days.

Above, how the calendar pillars relate to the position of the setting sun and the Earth's orbit throughout the year. Every three solar years was equal to 40 sidereal lunar months, marked by the

40 condor's heads on the freize and every thirty years an extra sidereal lunar month was added to synchronise the calendar.

Looking at the above animation, you could choose to count the year from the solstice of IntiRayme (21 June) when the sun reached the extreme horizon on the north side as marked by the pillar to the extreme right, or you could choose to count the year from the solstice Ccapac Rayme (21/22 December) when the sun reached its extreme position to the south as marked by the pillar at the extreme left of the wall. Either way, it still comes to 20 divisions, not 12.

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3 years of the calendar, click here for animated sequence counting 40 weeks of 9 days, 20 half-months of 18 days, 10

months of 36 days: sidereal lunar months, zocam years of 20 sidereal months, acrotom years of 40 sidereal months or 3 solar years, the Saros cycles of 18 solar years = 20 Inca years of 12

sidereal months.

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The chasquis on the Sun Gate count 30 solar years when an extra month has to be added to the lunar calendars.

click here for 30 years animated sequence

Above, the chasqui icons are arranged vertically in threes - every three solar years was equal to 40 sidereal lunar months, marked by the 40 condor's heads on the freize, there are 30 chasquis because every thirty years an extra sidereal lunar month was added to synchronise the solar and lunar calendar.

the calendar counts:30 solar years of 10 months solar

20 zocam years of 20 months lunar 10 acrotom years of 40 months lunar

In Ecuador, according to the calendar of the Muiscas, 20 sidereal months was known as a "Zocam" year while the period of 40 sidereal months was known as an "Acrotom" year which was also equal to 37 ordinary lunar months or 3 solar years. This corresponds perfectly well with the numbers recorded on the Gate of the Sun showing the advanced mathematical and astronomical knowledge of the ancient Tiwanakotan peoples.

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See also lost calendar of the Andes for more information on the Tiwanaku and Muisca calendars.

Above, left, winter solstice ceremony, 21 June 2010 at Tiwanaku.

above right, summer solstice ceremony 21 June 2010 at Stonehenge.

winter in the southern hemisphere is summer in the northern hemisphere.

Above, George Squier's illustration of doorway with freize which at one time was located at entrance to the village cemetary, midway between the village of Tiwanaku and the Kalasasaya.

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Above, another of George Squier's gateway illustrations, with fallen monolithic block.

George Squier quotes from a description of the Akapana when it was visited earlier by the historian Cieza de Leon.

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One of the surviving blocks of stone on the Akapana at the time of the French mission 1903.

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summit of the Akapana at the time of the French mission of 1903 with vast depression said to have been dug by treasure seekers although other reports suggest there was at one time a sunken

courtyard.

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the depression on the summit of the Akapana as it exists today.

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Surviving blocks of stone on the summit of Akapana today.

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One of the surviving blocks of stone on the summit of Akapana today.

Grooves were cut into the sides to retain the walls.

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The base of this gateway in Puma Punku has been drilled to receive bronze pins.

It appears to have part of the Calendar freize on the upper part.

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Above, left, tee clamp recess on stone at Tiwanaku, right tee clamp recess on stone at Acropolis, Athens.

The famous building called the Parthenon which sits on top of the Acropolis in Athens was built by Pericles following on from the destruction of an earlier Parthenon by the invading Persians in

460BC.

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Above, left, stone conduit at Tiwanaku, right, stone conduit at Acropolis, Athens.

Above, stone conduit at Tiwanaku, a typical conduit measures about one cubit of 20" wide.

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Above, stone doorway at Tiwanaku, Puma Punku, source "Tiwanaku señores del lago sagrado."

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Above, gateway at Tiwanaku photographed by the French mission 1903.

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Above, left, window at Tiwanaku carved from a single block of stone, right for comparison, window at Persepolis, Iran, carved

from a single block of stone.

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Above, left, door at Tiwanaku carved from a single block of stone, right for comparison, door at Persepolis, Iran.

Note how in both cases the door opening is revetted within the stone framework.

Persepolis was the ceremonial capital of the Persian empire and

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dates to 515BC,making it roughly contemporary with the earliest stages of the

Kalasasaya according to the dating chart on page 1.

Cieza de Leon visiting the site in 1549 has this to say about the doorways at Tiwanaku, observing them to be carved out of a single block of stone "there are other ancient remains, among them many doorways, with their jambs, lintels, and thresholds, all of one stone. But what I noted most particularly, when I wandered about over these ruins writing down what I saw, was that from these great doorways there came out other still larger stones, upon which the doorways were formed, some of them thirty feet broad, fifteen or more long, and six in thickness. The whole of this, with the doorway and its jambs and lintel, was all one single stone. The work is one of grandeur and magnificence, when well considered. For myself I fail to understand with what instruments or tools it can have been done ; for it is very certain that before these great stones could be brought to perfection and left as we see them, the tools must have been much better than those now used by the Indians."

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Above, stoneworks at Puma Punku, Tiwanaku.

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Above, fallen stone doorway at Puma Punku, Tiwanaku,

Above, H blocks at Puma Punku, Tiwanaku. A typical H block was found to measure 40" wide which could be interpretated as 2 x

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cubits.Note the size of the stone the H blocks are resting upon. Forbes reported one block of stone which measured 27 feet long by 13 feet broad and 7 feet thick.... "which being of sandstone could

not have weighed less than 160 tons."

Above, H blocks at Puma Punku, Tiwanaku, reverse side. These were interlocking stones which fitted together to build a

wall.

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the square cross symbol from Puma Punku, Tiwanaku.

Posnansky also attributed the great age of Tiwanaku to the amount of erosion evident in many of the stones. At the same time he notes that certain stones have been preserved because they were covered in a layer of alluvial mud brought by the flooding of Lake Titicaca. "Owing then to this protective layer which covered the ruins of Puma-Punku, these suffered relatively little wearing away, as we note in some blocks. ..... The degree of erosion in Tihuanacu is in proportion to the time that the ruins were exposed to the inclemency of the weather."

Above, this stonework at Puma Punku appears in pristine

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condition as it has been dug out of the gound. It probably also belongs to a later period when compared to the oldest parts of

Tiwanaku. The stonework is so fine and includes a series of finely drilled holes.

Above, detail of row of drilled holes in preceeding stonework.

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These steps at Puma Punku appear highly eroded.

It was thought by Posnansky that there were docks and wharves at Puma Punku. "The glacial Andean lake, or as d'Orbigny calls it, the "inner sea", certainly reached in the Second Period and unquestionably in the Third, as far as the edges of the monuments of Tihuanacu. This assertion is proven by the many hydraulic works, such as wharves, canals, and especially the spillway by which the step-formed canal was drained."

Posnansky also thought that Tiwanaku had at one time been submerged under the waters of lake Titicaca due to a great cataclysm. Above lake Titicaca there are a series of smaller lakes at a higher altitude than Titicaca. Posnansky says that due to seismic upheavals, these burst their banks, adding to the waters of Titcaca and drowning the city of Tiwanaku. This opinion he says, "was supported by a layer of calcareos tufa and hardened volcanic mud which is found some sixty centimeters below the stratified alluvium which covers the palace of Kalasasaya." He also followed the strand lines (shores of ancient lakes) from Tiwanaku south to Uyuni and concluded that the northen regions had risen in elevation and the southern regions had sunk in elevation.

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Above, graph of strand lines by Edmund Kiss, 1937, shows how land has sunk at the southern end of the Altiplano

This idea of Tiwanaku being submerged by the waters of the lake also occurs in the Bolivian "Legend of the Desaguadero" which

says the city was punished by the gods - perhaps the origin of the story of Plato's Atlantis?

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Remains of stones at Puma Punku, Tiwanaku.

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Remains of immense stone blocks at Puma Punku, Tiwanaku.

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Stone blocks and pieces from construction patterns at Puma Punku, Tiwanaku.

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Remains of recessed stonework at Puma Punku, Tiwanaku.

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Remains of stonework at Puma Punku, Tiwanaku.

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Remains of indentations for metal ties in stonework at Puma Punku, Tiwanaku.

Different styles of clamps at Puma Punku (Stubel 1892).

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Dimensioned stone blocks, Puma Punku. One of these "H" blocks when measured by J.M. Allen, measured 40.0"

i.e. 2 x 20" cubits wide. But each block is not exactly the same dimensions.

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dimensioned stone blocks, Puma Punku. There seems to have been a standard pattern for these blocks and small differences in size may have occurred due to each being individually carved in

stone.

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Remains of stonework at Puma Punku, Tiwanaku. Note the recesses on top for metal ties.

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stone block with opening, carved from a single block of stone, Puma Punku.

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Fragments of stones at Puma Punku, Tiwanaku.

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Above, model of the Akapana pyramid, (foreground) with the Kalasasaya compound in the background, Tiwanaku and the

smaller, semi-subterranean temple to the right of it.

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Above, looking northwards from the Akapana pyramid in 1903. The southern wall of the Kalasasaya is in the foreground and

excavations at the semi subterranean temple can be seen on the right.

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Above, looking over the excavations at the semi subterranean temple towards the Kalasasaya entrance in 1903.

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Above, stonework of the Akapana pyramid, Tiwanaku.

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Above, Akapana steps, Tiwanaku.

Above, plan of Akapana pyramid by Javier Escalante

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Above, restoration work at the Akapana pyramid.

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Above, stone false arch at Tiwanaku.

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Above, stone pedestal at Tiwanaku.

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Above, stone model of construction at Tiwanaku.

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scheme of tiwanaku by Javier Escalante.

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steps leading into the sunken courtyard and the Kalasasaya entrance in the background.

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the sunken courtyard or semi-subterranean temple with exterior wall of the Kalasasaya in the background.

the sunken courtyard with walls of stone heads.

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the sunken courtyard with the Kalasasaya entrance in the background and sculptured, weathered figures in the centre.

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the sculptured figure in the centre of the sunken courtyard.

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the sculptured figure being excavated.

dimensioned plan of the semi-subterranean temple from Estudio de las percepciones y experiencias en el templete

semisubterraneo de Tiwanaku

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the wall of various heads in the sunken courtyard.

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detail of wall of heads.

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heads in wall.

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this trench excavated in 1903 shows sculptured heads set into a wall.

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selection of heads from the sunken courtyard.

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Above, left, detail of statue at Tiwanaku showing bearded man,

right, for comparison, bust of the bearded Sargon of Agade. Sargon reigned from 2270 to 2215 BC. He is said to have conquered the Sumerians, founded the city of Babylon,

standardised a Sumerian cuneiform script for universal use and also assumed the title "lord of the four quarters of the world" - which incidentally was also the title assumed by the Incas who

divided their empire into four quarters, "Tahuantinsuyo" meaning "land of the four quarters". Legends in both Mexico and the

Andes told of bearded white men who had visited them in the distant past. This statue, judging by appearance and weathering appears to belong to an earlier period than the preceeding statue

and appears to confirm Cieza de Leon's statement that at one time there were bearded men on an island in lake Titcaca.

Above, left, detail of a type of "proto-cuneiform" script on the Fuente Magna bowl found by the shores of Lake Titicaca, right, Akkadian cuneiform script, shown in reverse with one similar

character encircled on the bowl.

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one of the statues now housed in the museum centre.

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former location in the stadium exhibition centre.

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sculpture on the front of Tiwanaku Institute.

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statues recovered by the French mission of 1903.

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statues recovered by the French mission.

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Above, old time photo of monolith known as "el fraile".

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Above, left, old time photo by French mission of 1903 with Akapana in the background. Note the crab design on the belt. Right, similer but different statue recorded by Stubel 1892.

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one of the statues excavated by the French mission at Puma Punku,

note the feathered headdress also the depth of soil with which the base of the statue was covered.

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Above, Statue from Tiwanaku installed in La Paz at end of street leading to the Tiwanaku Institute.

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Above, Statues from Tiwanaku as they appear today, note the two left hands on the statue on the right.

Above, left, drawing of Seti I of Egypt note the two left hands. right, statue from Tiwanaku, note the style showing two left

hands also the crab motif on belt.

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Above, drawing of the Babylonian god, Marduk, note the two left hands and feathered hat.

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above left, stone door from Tiwanaku - there is said to be an underground city and tunnels beneath Tiwanaku, right, circular

stone door from underground city of Derinkuyu in Turkey

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Above left, another stone door from Tiwanaku - note how the stone is not perfectly round, but has straight edges on the right

hand side and base, therefore it was not a wheel, but a door. Centre, circular stone door from underground city of Derinkuyu in

Turkey, right stone door from underground site in Turkey with straight edge on right hand side and also on base.....

By the time of the Conquest, Tiwanaku had been long abandoned. Some say this was due to drought and climate change yet modern Google earth imagery shows evidence of considerable earthquake activity in the nearby area. For the new Spanish rulers, Tiwanaku was to be used as a useful quarry to obtain stone for the building of La Paz and its cathedral. Statues and buildings were blown up with gunpowder to reduce the stones into more manageable pieces.

Squier "There were formerly a number of specimens of sculpture in Tiahuanuco besides the two monolithic gateways I have described. Says Cieza de Leon : "Beyond this hill [referring to the Fortress] (Akapana) are two stone idols, of human shape, and so curiously carved that they seem to be the work of very able masters. They are as big as giants, with long garments differing from those the natives wear, and seem to have some ornament on their heads." These, according to D'Orbigny, were broken into pieces by blasts of powder inserted between the shoulders, and not even the fragments remain on the plain of Tiahuanuco."

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An overzealous local priest carted off stones for the building of the church in the nearby village of Tiwanaku. Campesinos helped themselves to stones for the adornment of their houses. Finally along came the railway and what was left of this wondrous city was smashed up and used as ballast for the railway.

Above, a block of stone from ancient Tiwanaku built into the wall of the church in Tiwanaku village.

"Kalasasaya..... -it was destroyed at the beginning of the seventeenth century by the zealous priest of the locality, Pedro de Castillo. Guided by a blind faith, commendable from his point of view, he destroyed the most noteworthy and precious part of the magnificent city, and constructed the enormous temple to the new faith on the same spot where this city rose. Perhaps a portion equal to that destroyed by this cleric and his follower, the truly responsible agent in the destruction, the Indian chief Paxi-pati, has been that devastated by the builders of the railroad to Guaqui, and as we pointed out in the first volume, they were not even strangers!" (Posnansky)

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Above, sketch of pillar from Tiwanaku by Von Tschudi 1851.

Above, George Squier's illustration of the columns in 1877.

George Squier has these comments on the statues and pillars "I found but two (of the sculptures described by D'Orbigny) ; rough sculptures of the human head and bust, in coarse red sandstone, one of a man and the other of a woman, standing by the side of the gate-way of the church of Tiahuanuco. They are between four and five feet high, roughly cut, much defaced, and more like the idols which I found in Nicaragua, and have represented in my work on that country, than any others I have seen elsewhere. ... Among the stones taken from the ruins, and worked into buildings in the town of Tiahuanuco, are a number of cylindrical columns cut from a single block, with capitals

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resembling the Doric. One of these stands on each side of the entrance to the court of the church, 6 feet high and 14 inches in diameter. There are also many caps of square columns or pilasters," ...

Above, these statues and pillars from the old city can still be seen at the entrance to the local church.

The two outer columns each side of the gate appear to be the ones mentioned by Squier, it is not clear whether the inner set of

columns were also from the old city since they have very distinctive capitals, and David forbes (1870) describes how he

watched local workers carving new columns and capitals for the restoration of the church in Desaguadero village.

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Above, statue and one of the pillars from the ancient city of Tiwanaku,

built into the entrance of the local church.

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Above, detail of headgear.

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Above, Stubel's 1892 drawings of the statues, note the elaborate turban.

Above, Stubel's 1892 drawings of the statues, This one is the one on the right, a woman carrrying a baby.

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Above, the church at Tiwanaku in 1892 by Alphonse Stubel. The statue on the right is a woman carrrying a baby.

Above, detail of weeping god from Tiwanaku.

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Above, pieces of the worked stones from Tiwanaku were carried off

and even built into the walls of the campesinos houses.

Above, twin figures from Tiwanaku.

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Tiwanaku ceramics

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Tiwanaku bronze axe head made from arsenic copper gold alloy.

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tiwanaku the city that time forgot

Documents

inches high

inches broad

inches thick

inches wide

feet of soiland

time of squier

central figure

human heads