The Temple of the Sun, Capturing the Sun's Journey in Stone

Camino Inca, Peru

There is a building of this scale

4.5

Introduction

The temple built on top of a small cave is an outstanding representation of the Inca people's astronomical and architectural skills. The Temple of the Sun, designed in a semi-circular shape, perfectly captures the movements of the sun in its unique geographic location and architectural structure. On June 22 every year, during the winter solstice in the southern hemisphere, the sun shines directly through a small trapezoidal window onto a large granite rock in the center of the temple. Astronomers and archaeologists believe this large rock played an important role in the Inca calendar. Looking out from the temple window, those who understand constellations can see the Pleiades constellation, which represents a bountiful harvest. Additionally, some archaeologists speculate that the royal tomb below the Temple of the Sun once contained the mummy of Pachacútec, the most famous ruler in Inca civilization history. However, Bingham did not discover any mummies or human remains during his expedition in 1919.