Puzzling Huge Ancient Sayhuite Monolith In Peru Remains An Unsolved Mystery

A. Sutherland - AncientPages.com - Sayhuite is an intriguing ancient site in Peru. Was it once an ancient city inhabited by an unknown civilization?

The site located on top of the hill called Concacha is regarded as a center of religious worship for Inca people, focusing on water. At Sayhuite there is a remarkable and huge ancient monolith that contains more than 200 geometric and zoomorphic figures such as reptiles, frogs, and felines.

Was it created by the Inca or a civilization that lived here before the Incan people arrived?

Who created Sayhuite, and for what purpose? That answer died with the original builders and users a long time ago.

The Sayhuite monolith remains an ancient unsolved mystery. There are many theories, but no one can really say for certain what this huge stone represented.

The functions or purposes of the mysterious monolith are simply unknown. Some researchers have suggested it was used as a scale model to design, develop, test, and document the properties of water flow for public water projects and instruct ancient engineers and technicians in the concepts and practices of the craft.

Mysterious ancient stone at the Sayhuite site. About two meters long and four meters wide, this magnificent ancient monolith has been modified several times, with new material, either altering the paths of the water or adding new paths altogether.

Another anomaly is the stone above, again andesite. The site is regarded as a center of religious worship focusing on water.

The Sayhuite temple featured larger columns draped in fabrics with gold bands the "thickness of one's hand." The temple was also under the care of the priestess Asarpay who jumped to her death in the nearby 400-meter gorge to avoid capture by Spanish forces.

Due to its abnormally large size and intricate carvings, the Sayhuite monolith has become a popular tourist attraction.

If you want to visit Sayhuite, this ancient site is located 47 kilometers (29 mi) east of the city Abancay, about 3 hours away from Cusco, in the province Abancay in the region Apurímac in Peru.

Written by – A. Sutherland AncientPages.com Staff Writer

Copyright © AncientPages.com All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed in whole or part without the express written permission of AncientPages.com