‘No parallels’: 2,300-year-old solar observatory awarded Unesco world heritage status

Chankillo in Peru features 13 stone towers built in 250 to 200 BC that functioned as a calendar by marking the rising and setting arcs of the sun

The oldest solar observatory in the Americas has been awarded Unesco world heritage status and dubbed a masterpiece of human creative genius".

The 2,300-year-old archaeological ruin Chankillo which lies in a desert valley in northern Peru was one of 13 new global sites added to the list of cultural monuments.