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San Agustín Archaeological Park
The San Agustín Archaeological Park (Spanish: ''Parque Arqueológico de San Agustín'') is a large archaeological area located near the town of San Agustín in Huila Department in Colombia. The park contains the largest collection of religious monuments and megalithic sculptures in Latin America and is considered the world's largest necropolis. Belonging to San Agustin culture, it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. The dates of the statues are uncertain, but they are believed to have been carved between 5–400 AD. The origin of the carvers remains a mystery, as the site is largely unexcavated. History The statues were first described by a Spanish monk, Fray Juan de Santa Gertrudis (1724–1799), who visited the countries of Colombia (then part of the New Kingdom of Granada), Ecuador and Peru in 1756–57 as a missionary. He passed through San Agustín in mid-1756, and wrote about the statues in his four-volume work ''Maravillas de la naturaleza'' (English: ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
San Agustín, Huila
San Agustín () is a town and municipality in the southern Colombian Department of Huila. The town is located 227 km away from the capital of the Department, Neiva. Population is around 34,000. The village was founded in 1752 by Alejo Astudillo but attacks by indigenous people destroyed it. The present village was founded in 1790 by Lucas de Herazo y Mendigaña. The mean temperature year round is 18 °C. Climate San Agustín has a subtropical highland climate (Köppen: ''Cfb'') with warm temperatures and frequent rainfall. San Agustín Archaeological Park The area is very well known for its pre-Columbian archaeological sites belonging to the ancient San Agustin culture. These sites comprise the San Agustín Archaeological Park, which generates significant revenue to the economy due to the high volume of tourists, both Colombian and foreigners. This site was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1995. Gallery File:Iglesia de San Agustín, San Agustín, Colo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |