The Pyramids of Güímar are six rectangular
pyramid
A pyramid (from el, πυραμίς ') is a structure whose outer surfaces are triangular and converge to a single step at the top, making the shape roughly a pyramid in the geometric sense. The base of a pyramid can be trilateral, quadrilat ...
-shaped, terraced structures built from
lava stone
Volcanic rock (often shortened to volcanics in scientific contexts) is a rock formed from lava erupted from a volcano. In other words, it differs from other igneous rock by being of volcanic origin. Like all rock types, the concept of volcanic ...
without the use of
mortar. They are located in the district of Chacona, part of the town of
Güímar
Güímar () is the name of a municipality, town and valley in the eastern part of the Spanish island of Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands, and part of Santa Cruz de Tenerife (province). The municipality extends for 102.9 square kilometers from ...
on the island of
Tenerife
Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...
in the
Canary Islands
The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...
,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
. The structures have been dated to the 19th century AD and they may originally have been a byproduct of contemporary
agricultural
Agriculture or farming is the practice of cultivating Plant, plants and livestock. Agriculture was the key development in the rise of Sedentism, sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of Domestication, domesticated species created food ...
techniques. These pyramids stand as high as 12m.
Other pyramids employing the same methods and materials of construction can be found in various sites on Tenerife. In Güímar itself there were nine pyramids, only six of which survive.
Research history
Thor Heyerdahl's hypothesis
In 1990, adventurer and publisher,
Thor Heyerdahl
Thor Heyerdahl KStJ (; 6 October 1914 – 18 April 2002) was a Norwegian adventurer and ethnographer with a background in zoology, botany and geography.
Heyerdahl is notable for his ''Kon-Tiki'' expedition in 1947, in which he sailed 8,000&nb ...
, became aware of the "Canarian Pyramids" by reading an article written by Francisco Padrón in the Tenerife newspaper "Diario de Avisos" detailing "real pyramids on the Canaries". As Heyerdahl had hypothesized a transatlantic link between
Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
and
Central America
Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...
, he became intrigued by the Güímar pyramids and relocated to Tenerife. There Heyerdahl researched possible parallels between the Canarian terrace structures and pyramid structures in Egypt and Central America in pre-Columbian
Mesoamerica
Mesoamerica is a historical region and cultural area in southern North America and most of Central America. It extends from approximately central Mexico through Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, and northern Costa Rica. W ...
as ceremonial areas.
Heyerdahl hypothesised that the Canarian pyramids formed a temporal and geographic stopping point on voyages between ancient Egypt and the
Maya civilization
The Maya civilization () of the Mesoamerican people is known by its ancient temples and glyphs. Its Maya script is the most sophisticated and highly developed writing system in the pre-Columbian Americas. It is also noted for its art, archit ...
, initiating a controversy in which historians, esoterics, archaeologists, astronomers, and those with a general interest in history took part.
Astronomical research and Freemasonry
In 1991, research by Juan Antonio Belmonte Avilés, Antonio Aparicio Juan and César Esteban López, researchers of the Canary Institute of Astrophysics, shown that the long sides of some of the terrace structures at Güímar marked the direction of both solstices. The main limiting wall points to the sunset in the
Summer solstice
The summer solstice, also called the estival solstice or midsummer, occurs when one of Earth's poles has its maximum tilt toward the Sun. It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere ( Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the summer ...
and the pyramids have stairs on their western side which face the direction of the rising sun on the
Winter solstice
The winter solstice, also called the hibernal solstice, occurs when either of Earth's poles reaches its maximum tilt away from the Sun. This happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere ( Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the winte ...
. Also, standing on the platform of the largest pyramid on the day of the
Summer solstice
The summer solstice, also called the estival solstice or midsummer, occurs when one of Earth's poles has its maximum tilt toward the Sun. It happens twice yearly, once in each hemisphere ( Northern and Southern). For that hemisphere, the summer ...
it is possible to experience a
double sunset
A double sunset is a rare astro-geographical phenomenon, in which the sun appears to set twice in the same evening from a specific viewing-point. A double sunrise may also occur in a similar situation. Such phenomena may have been regarded as si ...
, as first the sun sets behind a mountain top, then it emerges again from behind the mountain and sets a second time behind a neighbouring peak. However, considering the room for interpretation, it is impossible based solely on these observations to conclude what was the intention of the builders or the building date.
In 2005, a book was published in Spanish by Aparicio and Esteban titled ''The Pyramids of Güímar: Myth and Reality''. Aparicio and Esteban suggest that the solstitial orientations of the pyramids were potentially motivated by the Masonic symbolism. These authors argue that solstices are very important in the symbolism of
Freemasonry
Freemasonry or Masonry refers to fraternal organisations that trace their origins to the local guilds of stonemasons that, from the end of the 13th century, regulated the qualifications of stonemasons and their interaction with authorities ...
, and that the owner of the land in the epoch in which the pyramids were built was himself a Freemason. This motivation would be only an aesthetic one and would not modify in any rate the fundamental motivation (agriculture) and date of construction.
Archaeological excavations
Between 1991 and 1998, with the agreement of Thor Heyerdahl, multiple
excavations of the site by archaeologists of the
University of La Laguna
The University of La Laguna (ULL; Spanish: ''Universidad de La Laguna'') is a public research university situated in San Cristóbal de La Laguna, on the island of Tenerife, Spain. It is the oldest university in the Canary Islands. The university ...
(Departamento de Prehistoria, Antropología e Historia Antigua) took place. In 1996 the results of the 1991 excavation were presented at a colloquium (published in 1998), providing evidence for the dating of the pyramids. According to the preceding geophysical
Georadar-Survey eight locations adjacent to the pyramids, each with an area of 25 m², were investigated in layers down to the solid lava-floor. In doing so it was possible to establish three specific sediment layers. Starting from the top these were:
# A layer of thickness averaging 20 cm, consisting of humus-rich earth with many plant remains and roots; tracks from ploughing were clearly identifiable as were a broad spectrum of readily datable finds from the second half of the 20th century.
# A layer of thickness averaging 25 cm, similar in composition to the first layer, however containing less humus and a larger amount of small stones; a large variety of finds which could be dated to the 19th and 20th century were found, of which an official seal from 1848 deserves particular mention.
# A layer of thickness between 25 and 150 cm, composed out of small
volcanic rocks
Volcanic rock (often shortened to volcanics in scientific contexts) is a Rock (geology), rock formed from lava erupted from a volcano. In other words, it differs from other igneous rock by being of Volcano, volcanic origin. Like all rock types, ...
, most likely put in place in one movement, which levelled the uneven stone underneath; the stones contained only very few finds, mostly a small number of
pottery
Pottery is the process and the products of forming vessels and other objects with clay and other ceramic materials, which are fired at high temperatures to give them a hard and durable form. Major types include earthenware, stoneware and por ...
shards, of which some was local and some imported, both kinds were roughly estimated as belonging to the 19th century; the pyramids stand stratigraphically directly on top of this bottom layer, therefore allowing only for an earliest date of construction of the pyramids within the 19th century.
Furthermore, under the border edge of one of the pyramids, a natural
lava cave
A lava cave is any cave formed in volcanic rock, though it typically means caves formed by volcanic processes, which are more properly termed volcanic caves. Sea caves, and other sorts of erosional and crevice caves, may be formed in volcanic roc ...
was discovered. It had been walled up and yielded artefacts from the time of the
Guanches
The Guanches were the indigenous inhabitants of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean some west of Africa.
It is believed that they may have arrived on the archipelago some time in the first millennium BCE. The Guanches were the only nativ ...
. Since the pyramids lie stratigraphically above the cave, the Guanche finds from between 600 and 1000 AD can only support conclusions on the date of human use of the cave. The above survey indicates that the pyramids themselves cannot be older than the 19th century.
Conclusions
The
archaeologist
Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...
s involved maintain that the creation of the terrace structures followed from the practices of the 19th century
rural
In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...
population
Population typically refers to the number of people in a single area, whether it be a city or town, region, country, continent, or the world. Governments typically quantify the size of the resident population within their jurisdiction using a ...
, who created these structures while clearing cultivatable land of stones, as they piled the stones into these terrace shapes.
Heyerdahl suggested that the structures were not haphazardly piled-up stones. Heyerdahl maintained a belief in the hypothesis that the pyramids were connected with Guanches until his death. The association of the Guanches and the pyramids continues to be elaborated upon both in "Pyramid park" and on its official website.
Aparicio and Esteban's theory connects the facts that the pyramids were built in the 19th century with the acknowledgement that they are not simply piles of stones.
Ethnographic park
Following the completion of the excavations in 1998, the 65,000 m² area surrounding the pyramids was made accessible to the public. Heyerdahl received financial support from his friend the Canarian businessman
Fred Olsen
Fredrich Olsen (1891–1986) was a British-born American chemist remembered as the inventor of ball propellant and as a donor or seller to the art antiquities collections of Yale University, the University of Illinois, and the Massachusetts Insti ...
, who owns the largest transport company in the Canaries and whose family came to the islands from Norway in the 20th century. An information centre provides visitors with information about Heyerdahl’s research trips and his previous ideas regarding the pyramids. Two pavilions contain exhibits relating to Heyerdahl along with models of his boats; a replica of the Ra II in its original size, amongst others. In spite of the conclusions regarding the age of the pyramids outlined above, Heyerdahl continued to maintain a belief "in a possible relationship between the existence of the pyramids and the pre Hispanic civilisation on Tenerife".
[Flyer from the "pyramid park" in Güímar, received on the 16.02.2008 at the ticket booth: ''Pirámides de Güímar. Parque Etnográfico. DEUTSCH''. No year, no locale.] The objects found in the Guanche cave are shown in the "museum" in heavily enlarged photos, whilst the imported ceramics from the 19th century are mentioned only briefly on an information board – without illustration.
References
Further reading
*Maria Cruz Jiménez Gómez/Juan Francisco Navarro Mederos: ''El complejo de las morras de Chacona (Güímar, Tenerife): resultados del proyecto de investigación'', XII Coloquio de Historia Canario-Americana (1996), Cabildo Insular de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria 1998, Volume 1.
*Juan Francisco Navarro Mederos/Maria Cruz Jiménez Gómez
''El difusionismo atlántico y las pirámides de Chacona'' in: Miguel Ángel Molinero Polo y Domingo Sola Antequera: Arte y Sociedad del Egipto antiguo. Madrid 2000, , S. 241-253.
*Antonio Aparicio Juan/César Esteban López: ''Las Pirámides de Güímar: mito y realidad''. Centro de la Cultura Popular Canaria, La Laguna 2005, .
*https://web.archive.org/web/20120510204415/http://eye-on-wales.com/2012/05/06/making-up-pyramids/
*Short summary fro
''Las Pirámides de Güímar: mito y realidad''in Spanish.
* Juan Francisco Navarro Mederos
''Arqueología de las Islas Canarias" in: Espacio, Tiempo y Forma, Serie I, Prehistoria y Arqueología, Bd. 10, 1997, S. 447-478.
External links
Official page of the Ethnologic Park
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pyramids Of Guimar
Buildings and structures in Tenerife
Guimar
History of the Canary Islands
Archaeology of Tenerife
Tourist attractions in Tenerife
Pseudoarchaeology