El Infiernito
El Infiernito ("The Little Hell"); ancient astronomical site
|
|
 Shown within Colombia
|
|
| Location | Villa de Leyva, Boyacá |
|---|---|
| Region |
Altiplano Cundiboyacense,  Colombia
|
| Coordinates | 5°38′50.63″N 73°33′31.41″W / 5.6473972°N 73.5587250°WCoordinates: 5°38′50.63″N 73°33′31.41″W / 5.6473972°N 73.5587250°W |
| Type | Archaeoastronomical site |
| Part of | Pre-Muisca sites |
| History | |
| Material | Sandstone |
| Periods | pre-Herrera Period-Late Muisca |
| Cultures | Herrera-Muisca |
| Satellite of | Muisca Confederation |
| Site notes | |
| Archaeologists | Eliécer Silva Celis, Carl Henrik Langebaek et al. |
| Public access | Yes |
El Infiernito (Spanish for "The Little Hell"), is a pre-Columbian archaeoastronomical site located on the Altiplano Cundiboyacense in the outskirts of Villa de Leyva, Boyacá, Colombia. It is composed of several earthworks surrounding a setting of menhirs (upright standing stones); several burial mounds are also present. The site was a center of religious ceremonies and spiritual purification rites, and also served as a rudimentary astronomical observatory.
The area was known by this name long before the discovery of the archaeological site. Spanish Conquistadors called it infiernito, or "little hell," because they thought it was diabolical and labeled it as a site of Pagan worship. The first description of the site was made in 1847 by the Colombian army geographer Joaquin Acosta, who reported 25 stone columns, half-buried in the Monquirá Valley. The findings were studied by Alexander von Humboldt who believed that the site could be used to anticipate astronomical phenomena such as solstices and equinoxes, as indicated by the alignment of the stones with the sun and moon.
The lithic pieces are carved in pink sandstone, many of them in columnar shapes with an incised ring. A total of 109 monoliths have been excavated to date: 54 in the north stone row and 55 in the south, aligned in an east-west orientation, apparently representing the Muisca calendar, dividing the area in two main parts: the north sacred field (Infiernito N° 1) and the south sacred field (Infiernito N° 2).
...
Wikipedia