![]() ![]() The Tiwanaku people created the giant geoglyph over 1,000 years ago but the purpose of the glyph is unknown. It was created from stones and dirt and can be viewed from great distances. This large, humanoid glyph stands at 390 feet (119 m) and is surrounded by thousands of smaller glyphs. In the Atacama Desert in Chile, carved into a hillside, stands the Atacama Giant, the world’s oldest anthropomorphic geoglyph. The Nazca Lines aren’t the only geoglyphs in South America. The Atacama Giant El Gigante de Atacama, photo by Sznegra, February 27, 2008, via Wikimedia Commons Locals have maintained the site for centuries, ensuring the foliage doesn’t cover the horse.Ģ. ![]() No matter the purpose, the White Horse remains a significant cultural and historical artifact. Some archaeologists believe that this indicates that the horse represents a sun horse, an ancient Indo-European symbol representing the belief that a horse pulled the sun across the sky. When viewed from a hill opposite the horse in midwinter, the sun rises behind the horse and, throughout the day, moves past it. ![]() Other theories state that a pre-historic culture created the glyph to mark ownership of their land or that the horse corresponds to celestial or astronomical events. However, later excavations proved that the glyph is much older. One legend stated that the glyph was carved to celebrate an Anglo-Saxon defeat of a Viking army in 875 CE. Constructed between 1380 and 550 BCE, during the late Bronze Age or Early Iron Age, references to the White Horse have existed since medieval times. Historians and archaeologists do not know what people created the glyph or why. The striking white chalk makes the horse stand out from the lush green grass. Nestled on the upper slopes of Whitehorse Hill in Uffington, England, the horse stretches 360 feet (110 m) across the hill. The only known pre-historic geoglyph in Europe, the Uffington White Horse, is a splendid sight to behold. The Uffington White Horse Geoglyph Uffington White Horse, date unknown, via World History Encyclopedia ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |