Nazca: History of the pyramids of Cahuachi 3. The temple of stairs

Nazca: History of the pyramids of Cahuachi

3. The temple of stairs ("templo del escalonado")

4 km eastwards of the today's village of Cahuachi - 7 m high and 30 m large - the construction - phase 3 - 240 columns of huarango wood - a mud flood at "the end of the first millennium" - sealing of the pyramid - sacrificed skulls

The "temple of stairs" has got walls with a stairs' design

The columns' area  ("estaquería") (01): The "temple of the stairs of Cahuachi near Nasca has got it's columns' area with 240 columns of huarango wood

from the booklet of Josue Lancho Rojas of Pyramid Museum Antonini at Nazca: "Cahuachi. El centro ceremonial en adobe más grande del mundo" ("Cahuachi. World wide biggest ceremonial center of mud bricks"); in commemoration of Dr. Giuseppe Orefici for his 25 years of archeologic work in Nazca

under auspices of Peruvian hotel chain Casa Andina

translated by Michael Palomino (2009)

[Ceremonial center 4 km eastwards of Cahuachi]

(p.12)

[7 m high and 30 m large]

(p.11)

[The construction: Roof with poles of huarango wood - perimetric wall - ridges of huarango wood - vegetable netting]



In it's inner area this temple preserved two constructive characters which distinguish from other temples of the site: One thing  are the crossbars of it's doors (lintel) of huarango wood, and the other thing was the application of vertical vegetable netting to reinforce the clay walls. By this the construction of clay tiles got more stability and could bear many tons of weight without difficulty.> (p.11)

[Probably first was erected the netting and then were constructed the clay tiles around the netting as it's tradition until today with quincha walls].

[Use of the pyramid of stairs in phase 3]

(p.12)

(p.11)

[240 poles of huarango wood - Orefici: great platform of 240 huarango poles of about 600 AD]

Columns' area ("estaquería") (02), the photo shows a part of the area with 240 huarango poles of the temple of stairs ("Templo del escalonado") in Cahuachi near Nasca

Since 1997 Nasca Project under leadership of Dr. Giuseppe Orefici performed several excavations to find out the purpose of the place and why were erected all the poles. But there came out no explanation. Since this time there were excavated monumental structures which confirmed the hypothesis that the archaeological remains were a ceremonial center, that was linked with Cahuachi and which functioned also after the destruction of the ceremonial center of Cahuachi.> (p.12)

Columns' area ("estaquería") (03) of the temple of the stairs ("Templo del escalonado") 4 km from Cahuachi near Nasca, with a new part where the archaeologists are going to work

structures on which were fixed 240 huarango poles with a huge roof construction. The poles had pointed or forked forms and at an average were 2 m high and also were erected all 2 m. There could be detected also rests of corridors and walls in quincha technique [first was erected the netting and then were built clay tiles around it] to separate rooms.

At the Eastern side of the ceremonial center there was detected a very important squared area. In it's center had been planted a big pole of huarango wood as a main column of a circular conical roof of reed poles and netting. Then the netting was covered.

Until today one can say that since Paracas epoch the columns' area ("estaquería") fulfilled it's ceremonial function and had it's climax during the end of the Wari of the region.> (p.13)

[One more flood "at the end of the first millennium AD" = 900 to 1100 AD - sacrificed skulls]

(p.13)

(p.11)

Stairs design
The "temple of stairs" has got walls with a stairs' design	Stairs' design can also be found on weavings of that time.	Stairs' design can also be found as a Nasca ceramics vessel