Pyramids of Güímar

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One of the Pyramids of Güímar
One of the Pyramids of Güímar

The Pyramids of Güímar are situated in the village of Güímar on the east coast of the isle of Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. They are still a mystery to archaeologists. The term covers six step pyramids with a rectangular ground plan, which have a noticeable similarity to the pyramids built by the Maya and Aztecs in Mexico.

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[edit] Stone heaps or pyramids?

For a long time, some believed that the pyramids were simply heaps made by native farmers who found the stones while ploughing and stacked them up on the edges of their fields. Indeed, this used to be a common practice on the Canary Islands. Reports by the local people tell that such pyramids once existed at many locations on the island, but most were pulled down because of their supposed uselessness and used as a cheap building material. In Güímar itself there are known to have been nine pyramids, but only six remain in Güímar today. Other pyramids are known to exist in Santa Barbara, Santo Domingo, Garachico, Icod de los Viños and San Marcos, Tenerife.

[edit] True pyramids

In 1991 the famous researcher Thor Heyerdahl studied the pyramids and discovered that they could not be random stone heaps. First of all, the stones on the pyramids’ corners show clear marks of working, and the ground had been levelled before the pyramids were built. The material is not stone from the nearby fields, but lava rock. Heyerdahl also found that the pyramids had a special astronomical orientation. On the day of the summer solstice, one can see a double sunset from the platform of the largest pyramid – the sun sinks behind a tall mountain peak, passes it, re-appears and sets again behind the next mountain. All of the pyramids have stairs on their western side, which you can climb exactly as the rising sun does on the morning of the winter solstice.

Pyramids of Güímar
Pyramids of Güímar

Despite his research, Heyerdahl could neither discover the age of the pyramids, nor answer the question of who built them. However, it is known that Guanches had lived in a cave under beneath of the pyramids. Until the Spanish conquest in the late 15th century, Güímar was the residence of one of the ten "menceys" (kings) of Tenerife.

It is noteworthy that according to a report by Pliny the Elder, the Canaries were uninhabited in the time of Hanno the Navigator (c. 600 BC), but nevertheless contained the ruins of huge buildings.[1]

The history of the settlement of the Canary Islands and the origin(s) of the settlers are still unclear. The passage to the Canary islands from the nearest mainland (southern Morocco) is difficult because of the strong sea currents. It is actually easier to approach from Europe and the Mediterranean area.

Heyerdahl advanced a theory that the Canaries had been bases of ancient shipping between The Americas and the Mediterranean. The quickest route between the two regions indeed does pass the Canary Islands – it was also used by Christopher Columbus. As early as 1970, Heyerdahl had shown that sailing between Northern Africa and the Caribbean is possible using ancient methods – he sailed from Morocco to Barbados on a papyrus boat, Ra II.

In 1998, the 65.000 m²-large area of the Güímar pyramids was opened to the public as an ethnological park. Heyerdahl was financially supported by the Norwegian shipowner Fred Olsen, who lives on Tenerife. An information centre acquaints visitors with Heyerdahl’s own expeditions and his theories about the pyramids. Two pavilions contain exhibitions about Heyerdahl and models of his boats, among them a reproduction of the Ra II in original size.

[edit] Notes

  1.   Pliny, NH 6:37 (translation)

[edit] External links

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Coordinates: 28°19′15″N, 16°24′49″W