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2.1.2 Observatory Building and Western Observing Point (WOP)
Structures 2 and 3, immediately west of the towers, are walled courtyards largely
destroyed by a prehistoric flood. Aerial photos and contour maps suggest that
Structure 2 was square, 130 m on each side. Only its eastern side remains; a very tall
wall that still stands at 7 m high. Aeolian and flood deposits cover its base, suggesting that it might have been even taller. Despite its height, it is not interpreted as
defensive. A small direct entrance between the surviving walls of both structures
leads to Structure 1: a small, well-preserved building with three rooms and surface
evidence of food and drink preparation and serving. It is curtained from view by the
high wall of Structure 2. Possibly, the intended function of the high wall is to
separate visually the service area of Structure 1 from the sacred area directly to
the west.
Structure 4 is rectangular (53.6 × 40.3 m). Its northeast entrance leads to two
internal corridors running along the perimeter walls, which exit to the opposite side
(south) of the interior courtyard. Another corridor, this time external, runs along the
southwest perimeter wall; it presents a right-turn baffled entrance —unusual at
Chankillo, because left-turn baffles protect against attackers carrying shields on
their left, exposed by the turn (Keeley, Fontana, & Quick, 2007). Such access suggests non-military control of the entrance to the corridor. The corridor widens
towards its eastern end exit, an open doorway that is unique at Chankillo for lacking
the typical wall niches that hold doors in all other entrances, large and small, known
at this site. From this open doorway, the view of the towers and their surroundings
is unimpeded, and important votive offerings were found in the area around the exit.
Thus, the purpose of the corridor was not to channel traffic from its access restricted
for social control at one end to the interior of the structure, but to the doorway facing
directly the Thirteen Towers on the other end. Owing to these attributes and its
location, the open doorway was identified as the WOP, from which the Thirteen
Towers and Cerro Mucho Malo were used as solar horizon markers (Ghezzi &
Ruggles, 2007); thus, Structure 4 has come to be known as the ‘Observatory
Building’.
Structure 5 is a rectangular building abutting the northwest corner of Structure 4.
The adobe on its surface (a material that was not used until centuries after the
abandonment of the site) suggests a later reoccupation of the Observatory Building.
Applying principles of symmetry evident throughout Chankillo, it is proposed that
this construction obscures a possible doorway in the Observatory Building at the
corner opposite to the WOP. From here, the Fortified Temple stands out on the
horizon, offering viewpoints in the westerly direction that could reference
astronomical phenomena over the Temple skyline. Research suggests that this
possible doorway could have been used for observations of the June sun descending
over the Temple of the Pillars. In addition, ceremonies relating to both the sun and
moon might have taken place at the full moon nearest the December solstice. Since
the orientation of the corridor points toward the Southern Keep, it would imply that
from the time of its construction, this keep was associated with the moon, just as the
Temple of the Pillars was associated with the sun.
I. Ghezzi
2.1.2 Observatory Building and Western Observing Point (WOP)
Structures 2 and 3, immediately west of the towers, are walled courtyards largely
destroyed by a prehistoric flood. Aerial photos and contour maps suggest that
Structure 2 was square, 130 m on each side. Only its eastern side remains; a very tall
wall that still stands at 7 m high. Aeolian and flood deposits cover its base, suggesting that it might have been even taller. Despite its height, it is not interpreted as
defensive. A small direct entrance between the surviving walls of both structures
leads to Structure 1: a small, well-preserved building with three rooms and surface
evidence of food and drink preparation and serving. It is curtained from view by the
high wall of Structure 2. Possibly, the intended function of the high wall is to
separate visually the service area of Structure 1 from the sacred area directly to
the west.
Structure 4 is rectangular (53.6 × 40.3 m). Its northeast entrance leads to two
internal corridors running along the perimeter walls, which exit to the opposite side
(south) of the interior courtyard. Another corridor, this time external, runs along the
southwest perimeter wall; it presents a right-turn baffled entrance —unusual at
Chankillo, because left-turn baffles protect against attackers carrying shields on
their left, exposed by the turn (Keeley, Fontana, & Quick, 2007). Such access suggests non-military control of the entrance to the corridor. The corridor widens
towards its eastern end exit, an open doorway that is unique at Chankillo for lacking
the typical wall niches that hold doors in all other entrances, large and small, known
at this site. From this open doorway, the view of the towers and their surroundings
is unimpeded, and important votive offerings were found in the area around the exit.
Thus, the purpose of the corridor was not to channel traffic from its access restricted
for social control at one end to the interior of the structure, but to the doorway facing
directly the Thirteen Towers on the other end. Owing to these attributes and its
location, the open doorway was identified as the WOP, from which the Thirteen
Towers and Cerro Mucho Malo were used as solar horizon markers (Ghezzi &
Ruggles, 2007); thus, Structure 4 has come to be known as the ‘Observatory
Building’.
Structure 5 is a rectangular building abutting the northwest corner of Structure 4.
The adobe on its surface (a material that was not used until centuries after the
abandonment of the site) suggests a later reoccupation of the Observatory Building.
Applying principles of symmetry evident throughout Chankillo, it is proposed that
this construction obscures a possible doorway in the Observatory Building at the
corner opposite to the WOP. From here, the Fortified Temple stands out on the
horizon, offering viewpoints in the westerly direction that could reference
astronomical phenomena over the Temple skyline. Research suggests that this
possible doorway could have been used for observations of the June sun descending
over the Temple of the Pillars. In addition, ceremonies relating to both the sun and
moon might have taken place at the full moon nearest the December solstice. Since
the orientation of the corridor points toward the Southern Keep, it would imply that
from the time of its construction, this keep was associated with the moon, just as the
Temple of the Pillars was associated with the sun.
I. Ghezzi