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The Pyramids of Guimar, Canary Islands, Spain

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Tempest
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« on: April 12, 2008, 08:51:32 pm »

The Pyramids of Guimar, Canary Islands, Spain



Address: Casa de Chacona
Calle Chacona
Guimar 38500
Tenerife, Canary Islands
Spain
Telephone: (34)-922-51-45-10
Fax: (34)-922-51-45-11
Website: www.fredolsen.es   
The pyramids and museum are now open! 


Discovery

Archaeologists and authorities scoffed when a local newspaper published an article claiming to have discovered mysterious step-pyramids on the island of Tenerife. Just more agricultural stone terraces they said, such as are common throughout the Canaries.

But Thor Heyerdahl thought differently. Dr. Heyerdahl, who has done extensive research on the pyramids of Tucume in Peru, was intrigued by photos of the site, and on visiting the valley of Guimar to see for himself, he was no longer in any doubt. These were neither terraces nor random piles of stone cleared by the Spaniards, as some had tried to explain them away. They were painstakingly built step-pyramids, constructed according to similar principles as those of Mexico, Peru, and ancient Mesopotamia.

The Evidence

Far from being piles of unworked rubble, every stone was turned with its flat side out and placed together by stone masons.
With slopes of the volcano Mt. Teide at their back and facing the Atlantic, the edifices are precisely aligned according to the sunset on the summer solstice, as are other sacred structures in different parts of the world.
Carefully built stairways on the west side of each pyramid lead up to the summit, which is not a pile of stones, but a perfectly flat platform covered with gravel, as though for ceremonial performances and/or sun worship.
The stones were not weather-worn, rounded boulders, such as farmers had found in the fields, but sharp fragments of lava, and some of the corner stones had been trimmed.
Archaeologists from the University of La Laguna were contracted to do test excavations of a ceremonial platform between two of the pyramids. As predicted by Dr. Heyerdahl, they found that rather than being a random pile of stones as they had expected, it was built of blocks, gravel and earth. The skeptics had to admit that this was definitely some kind of ceremonial architecture. Yet some still refused to admit that such impressive structures could have been built by the Guanche, the original inhabitants of Tenerife, and suggested that they might have been constructed by the early Christian conquistadores as a time measuring device to know when to celebrate the Catholic festivities of St. John.
What is the Significance of the Pyramids?
Following Dr. Heyerdahl's express wishes, no theory is forced on the visitors to Guimar. In fact the symbol of the exhibit is a question mark, asking each person to make up his own mind.

Yet certainly, the evidence leads Heyerdahl and others involved in the project to believe that these pyramids may be remains from pre-European voyagers who sailed the Atlantic in ancient times, and may have possibly forged a link with the pre-Columbian civilizations of the Americas.

Among the original inhabitants of the Canaries many were fair-haired and bearded, and probably related to the Berbers who inhabited the coastal areas of North Africa before the Arab conquest. Is it possible that long before the 15th century, people of the same stock as those who settled the Canary Islands also sailed the same route along the Canary Current that Columbus took to the Americas? Columbus' starting off point was the Canaries, where his ships got supplies and water on Gomera, the island next to Tenerife. The Guanches on Tenerife in 1492 did not permit Columbus or any other Europeans to land on their island. They were not impressed by the physical appearance of the bearded Europeans, who looked like the Guanches themselves. But when Columbus and the Europeans who followed in his wake landed in the New World they were welcomed and initially worshipped as gods, since the beardless Indians they encountered believed that the Spanish belonged to the same people as the legendary founders of their civilization, bearded men from across the Atlantic Ocean.

The priority is to preserve the pyramids, which were slated for destruction to make way for urban development. Two of the smaller pyramids, which were partially damaged in recent decades, have also been restored.

A historic building at the site has been restored to house a museum. The exhibits will present the evidence and arguments for ideas about the spread of culture and ideas in ancient times, including examples of cultural parallels in art and other archaeological materials from across the oceans, models of ancient watercraft, and illustrations of stepped pyramids from around the world.

The second floor contains the FERCO headquarters and an archaeological library. [/color]

http://www.ferco.org/ferco_pyramids.html
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Tempest
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« Reply #1 on: April 12, 2008, 08:59:03 pm »

 
The lost pyramids of Guimar
Posted on Saturday, 7 January, 2006 | 4:58 | Comments: 5



Sitting around 100 kms off Morocco on the North East coast of Africa between the 28th and 29th northern parallels and the 16th and 17th western meridians, eleven volcanic Islands make up the archipelago of the Canary Isles. Although well known in Europe, few people outside the continent have even heard of the Islands let alone the mysteries they hold. The Canary Islands could contain definitive proof that ancient people crossed the globe by sea long before Columbus ever did.That proof might well lie in a large pyramid complex on the biggest of the Islands, Tenerife; and in the research of the Norwegian explorer, anthropologist and author, the late Dr Thor Heyerdahl. Realising that the pyramids were extremely similar to the step pyramids found in Peru, Mexico and ancient Mesopotamia, Dr Heyerdahl spent the last few years of his life living in Guimar, supervising the archaeological mission to survey and preserve the six step pyramids and the complex they were part of. The fact that this vast development exists is undeniable, the question is, who built it and why, and does it offer us proof that there was sustained contact between ancient people far beyond what conventional archaeology would have us believe?Until their conquest at the hands of the Spanish conquistadores, the Guanches, a mysterious people of whose history and culture little is known, inhabited Tenerife. Part of the reason for this lack of knowledge stems from the fact that the ancient culture was all but overrun by the invading Spaniards, partly due to the sporadic eruptions of Mount Teide and partly due to a lack of investment in archaeology in the region. The Canaries’ unique geographical location has made the Islands an important point in maritime routes for hundreds of years; Columbus, for example, used it as his last port of call before he made the long trip across the Ocean to America.

For years there has been dispute as to whether Columbus or Leif Eriksson actually discovered America first, but there seems to be a strong possibility that both of them were centuries too late and that the people of Mesoamerica and the Islanders of Tenerife actually established expeditions or even trade routes between their civilisations much earlier. Convinced that ancient people were not only sea faring but also pioneers and explorers themselves, Heyerdahl set out to show that modern science under-estimated long-forgotten aboriginal technologies. In 1947, he and five companions set sail from Peru in an aboriginal raft called the Kon Tiki, named after a pre Incan Sun God. They successfully crossed 8000 kms of ocean to reach Polynesia in 101 days using nothing that wasn’t available to the ancient people of Peru, demonstrating that the ancient Peruvians could have reached Polynesia by sea in this manner.
 
http://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/viewnews.php?id=58855
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« Reply #2 on: April 12, 2008, 08:59:44 pm »

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« Reply #3 on: April 12, 2008, 09:00:30 pm »

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« Reply #4 on: April 12, 2008, 09:01:15 pm »

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« Reply #5 on: April 12, 2008, 09:02:19 pm »

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« Reply #8 on: April 12, 2008, 09:05:42 pm »

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« Reply #9 on: April 12, 2008, 09:06:52 pm »

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« Reply #10 on: April 12, 2008, 09:09:25 pm »



EXCAVATIONS AT PIRAMIDES DE GUIMAR, TENERIFE, CANARY ISLANDS
The pyramids of Guimar are a complex of rubble-filled solar-oriented step-pyramids faced with volcanic stone. Although their origin, age and function remain unknown, they appear to be of pre-Spanish construction and it is possible that they are ceremonial structures linked to the indigenous people of the Canary Islands known as the Guanche.
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« Reply #11 on: April 12, 2008, 09:13:34 pm »

1999 FERCO INVESTIGATIONS AT THE PYRAMIDES DE GUIMAR


 
The expedition poses with the Explorers Club flag.
 


A view of the Piramides de Guimar.
Pyramid 4 is the structure at the left rear.
The 1999 FERCO expedition to investigate the pyramids at Guimar had two primary goals: (1) to conduct a test excavation into one of the pyramids to determine its age and contents, and (2) to collect data for a high precision 3-D model and map of the northern pyramid complex that could be used for scientific analysis and public display. The excavation and mapping took place during November 1999.

The directors of the international project were Thor Heyerdahl (Norway), Vincente Valencia (Spain), Donald Ryan (USA) and included professional archaeologists Brian Holmes (Canada), Richard Reanier (USA) and Katharina Lorvik (Norway). Our project engineer was Britt Stitt (USA) and our special assistant was Michael Breen (UK).
Volunteers included: Jeff Belvill, Russ Chandler, Chris Petersen, Ericka "Ann" Stewart, Anne Nystrom, Bridget Bosworth, and Carrie Hanis


Pyramid 4 Test Excavation
Pyramid 4 was selected as a focus of investigation for the following reasons:


it is architecturally interesting, having been joined at one time to Pyramid 3;
it can be argued that it is one of the oldest pyramids on the site, perhaps antedating Pyramid 3;
there was sufficient space available on the pyramid's flat summit to conduct the work.
Having no preconceived notions as to where to begin the excavations of Pyramid 4, we chose to locate our first 1.0 m. X 1.3 m. shaft in the structure's center. A rectangular wooden frame was constructed with hopes of preventing any slumping of the pyramid fill into the shaft from the sides. With this technique, wooden planks were added to the bottom of the original rectangular frame as the excavation proceeded into the fill.


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« Reply #12 on: April 12, 2008, 09:17:45 pm »



Starting the shaft.



Jeff in the hole.

The fill of the pyramid is composed primarily of small stones and dirt. Excavating in this extremely loose material was exceptionally difficult and strenuous. Great care had to be taken to protect the safety of the excavators and also to prevent material from sloughing in from the sides and bottom. All material removed from the shaft was screened.


After several days of excavation, we found it nearly impossible to keep loose material from seeping in from the sides and base of our wooden framework so a new method was adopted. A sturdy reinforced rectangular wooden box was constructed to fit snuggly into the previous framework. With no top nor bottom, this protective structure could be dropped down a few centimeters at a time as the excavation progressed.




Katharina and Brian mind the sifter.
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« Reply #13 on: April 12, 2008, 09:20:31 pm »



Installing the box.



Ann at work in the shaft.


After two weeks of work, the maximum depth of the shaft was - 285 cm. below top surface of the pyramid. No further digging could be accomplished because the excavation box became pinned from the loose material trapping its walls. The shaft was thereafter securely closed.

« Last Edit: April 12, 2008, 09:22:35 pm by Tempest » Report Spam   Logged

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« Reply #14 on: April 12, 2008, 09:44:02 pm »

After two weeks of work, the maximum depth of the shaft was - 285 cm. below top surface of the pyramid. No further digging could be accomplished because the excavation box became pinned from the loose material trapping its walls. The shaft was thereafter securely closed.




Anne and Katharina sorting rocks.




Thor consults with Don and Katharina as
Brian and Ann search the screen.

http://www.ferco.org/ferco_projects.html
« Last Edit: April 12, 2008, 09:46:56 pm by Tempest » Report Spam   Logged

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