Huaca del Sol facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Huaca del Sol |
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Panoramic view of temple or Huaca of the Sun
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| Location |  Peru |
| Nearest city | Trujillo |
| Established | Mochica era |
The Huaca del Sol (which means "Temple of the Sun") is a huge pyramid made from adobe bricks. It was built by the Moche civilization, an ancient group of people who lived in what is now northern Peru between 100 AD and 800 AD.
This amazing pyramid is one of several ancient ruins found near a volcanic peak called Cerro Blanco. This area is in the coastal desert near the city of Trujillo, in the Moche Valley. Another important ruin nearby is the Huaca de la Luna, which means "Temple of the Moon." It is smaller than the Huaca del Sol but is better preserved.
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Building the Huaca del Sol
The Moche people built the Huaca del Sol over many years. By 450 AD, they had completed eight different stages of construction. They built it by adding new layers of bricks directly on top of the old ones. This means they needed a huge number of bricks!
How Many Bricks?
Experts believe that the Huaca del Sol was made from over 130 million adobe bricks. This makes it the largest adobe structure ever built in the Americas before Christopher Columbus arrived.
Archaeologists have found different marks on the bricks. These marks suggest that more than a hundred different communities helped make and bring bricks for the pyramid's construction. It was a massive community effort!
What Was the Huaca del Sol Used For?
The Huaca del Sol had four main levels. Different rulers expanded and rebuilt the structure over time. It was originally about 50 meters (164 feet) tall. Its base was about 340 meters (1,115 feet) long and 160 meters (525 feet) wide.
This temple was located right in the middle of the Moche capital city. People believe it was used for important religious ceremonies and rituals. It also seems to have been a royal residence and a place where important people were buried. Evidence found by archaeologists supports these ideas.
Damage to the Pyramid
During the early 17th century, when Spanish colonists were in Peru, they caused a lot of damage to the Huaca del Sol. They wanted to find gold artifacts hidden inside the temple. To do this, they changed the path of the Moche River so it would flow right past the base of the pyramid.
This method, called hydraulic mining, washed away a lot of the adobe bricks. Because of this and other looting, about two-thirds of the pyramid has been lost. The part that remains today is still impressive, standing at 41 meters (135 feet) tall.
Even today, looting and natural erosion from events like El Niño continue to be big worries for this ancient site.
See also
In Spanish: Huacas del Sol y de la Luna para niños
- Huaca de la Luna
- History of Peru
- Pre-Inca cultures
- List of tallest structures built before the 20th century
