Güímar pyramids

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One of the pyramids of Güímar 2003
Same pyramid 2008
Güímar BW 1.JPG
Güímar BW 2.JPG
Güímar BW 3.JPG
Güímar BW 4.JPG

The Güímar pyramids are six rectangular, elongated, pyramid- shaped terrace structures made of lava stones stacked without mortar . They are located near the village of Chacona, which belongs to the municipality of Güímar on Tenerife . While the dating to the 19th century has been unequivocally secured through archaeological excavations, its original function has not yet been clearly clarified.

Local traditions as well as old representations show that such pyramids (also called Morras , Majanos , Molleros or Paredones ) were once found in many places on the islands, but were often demolished over time and used as cheap building material. In Güímar itself there were originally nine pyramids, of which only six are preserved today.

Research history

Between 1991 and 1998 several excavations were carried out by archaeologists from the University of La Laguna (Departamento de Prehistoria, Antropología e Historia Antigua), whose session presented at a colloquium in 1996 and published in 1998 provided decisive evidence for the dating of the pyramids. After previous geophysical ground- penetrating radar investigations, eight fields, each with an area of ​​25 m², were sunk in layers down to the solid lava bed. Three layers could be identified, listed from top to bottom:

  1. Layer thickness on average 20 cm, consisting of very humus soil with lots of plant remains and roots; clear traces of plowing and a wide range of datable finds from the second half of the 20th century were found;
  2. Layer thickness on average 25 cm, similar in composition to the first layer, but with less humus and a larger number of small stones; Very different finds, dating to the 19th and 20th centuries, came to light; Among these finds, an official seal from 1848 deserves special mention;
  3. Layer thickness 25 to 150 cm, composed of small volcanic stones, apparently applied in one go, leveling the uneven rocky subsoil; the filling contained almost no finds except for a few sherds, on the one hand from local ceramics and on the other hand from imported ceramics - both types can roughly be dated to the 19th century; the pyramids stand stratigraphically directly on this lowest layer; thus the earliest possible time of origin of the pyramids can be dated to the 19th century.

Furthermore, a natural lava cave was discovered under the side edge of one of the pyramids, which was walled up and yielded finds from the Guanche period . Since the pyramid lies stratigraphically above the cave, only conclusions can be drawn for the use of the cave from the guanche finds dating from 600 to 1000 AD. The pyramids cannot be older than from the 19th century due to the younger imported ceramics found.

Theories of Aparicio Juan and Esteban López

Investigations by Aparicio Juan and Esteban López, both employees of the Astrophysical Institute of the Canaries, had already shown in the early 1990s that the long sides of some of Güímar's terraced buildings point in the direction of the two solstices. On the day of the summer solstice , you can experience a double sunset from the platform of the largest pyramid: The sun sinks behind a mountain peak, passes it, reappears behind it and sinks a second time behind the neighboring mountain. All pyramids have stairs on their west side, on which you can meet the rising sun at the winter solstice .

In 2005 a book was published in Spanish by Juan and López with the title: The Pyramids of Güímar: Myth and Reality . There they put up for discussion that the pyramids were built oriented towards the solstices, inspired by the symbolism of the Freemasons . Both scientists base this suggestion on three aspects: statistical studies of the randomness of alignment, the importance of the solstices in Freemasonry, and the fact that the owner of the property was a Freemason at the time of construction.

Transatlantic Hypothesis

The researcher and adventurer Thor Heyerdahl , who died in 2002 and who became aware of the stone buildings in 1990 and then settled in the area for several years, put forward the hypothesis that the Canarian pyramids were a stopover on the way from Egyptian sun worshipers to the Maya of Central America. This led to controversies, which were carried out in Canarian newspapers, among other things. Although Heyerdahl's hypothesis was refuted by excavation results, he seems to have continued to adhere to it. With the Norwegian company Fred. Olsen & Co. , owners of the site dedicated to building in 1990, the area was marketed for tourism in 1998 when the excavations were completed. An information center familiarizes visitors with Heyerdahl's research trips and his theses on the pyramids. Two pavilions show exhibitions about Heyerdahl and models of his vehicles, including a full-size replica of the Ra II.

See also

literature

  • Maria Cruz Jiménez Gómez / Juan Francisco Navarro Mederos: El complejo de las morras de Chacona (Güímar, Tenerife): resultados del proyecto de investigación , XII Coloquio de Historia Canario-Americana (1996), Cabildo Insular de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 1998, Volume 1.
  • Juan Francisco Navarro Mederos / Maria Cruz Jiménez Gómez: El difusionismo atlántico y las pirámides de Chacona , in: Miguel Ángel Molinero Polo y Domingo Sola Antequera: Arte y Sociedad del Egipto antiguo. Madrid 2000, ISBN 978-84-7490-604-2 , pp. 241-253.
  • Antonio Aparicio Juan / César Esteban López: Las Pirámides de Güímar: mito y realidad . Centro de la Cultura Popular Canaria, La Laguna 2005, ISBN 978-84-7926-510-6 .
  • Brief summary of Las Pirámides de Güímar: mito y realidad in Spanish.
  • Juan Francisco Navarro Mederos: Arqueología de las Islas Canarias (PDF; 1.5 MB), in: Espacio, Tiempo y Forma, Series I, Prehistoria y Arqueología, Vol. 10, 1997, pp. 447-478.
  • Hans-Joachim Ulbrich: Canarian "pyramids" revisited - are they pre-Hispanic or recent? In: Almogaren . No. 46–47 , 2016 (English, institutum-canarium.org [accessed July 20, 2016]).

Web links

Commons : Pyramids of Güímar  - album with pictures, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. Juan Francisco Navarro Mederos / Maria Cruz Jiménez Gómez: El difusionismo atlántico y las pirámides de Chacona , in: Miguel Ángel Molinero Polo y Domingo Sola Antequera: Arte y Sociedad del Egipto antiguo. Madrid 2000, pp. 246-249.
  2. Juan Francisco Navarro Mederos: Arqueología de las Islas Canarias , in: Espacio, Tiempo y Forma, Series I, Prehistoria y Arqueología, Vol. 10, 1997, p. 467.
  3. Leaflet from the Pyramid Park in Güímar, purchased on February 16, 2008 at the ticket office: Pirámides de Güímar. Parque Etnográfico (German) .

Coordinates: 28 ° 19 ′ 19 ″  N , 16 ° 24 ′ 47 ″  W.