Tag Archives: Served

Monte Sierpe: Mysterious Thousands of ‘Holes’ in Peru Could Have Served as an Ancient Barter Market

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Monte Sierpe, meaning “Mountain of the Serpent” and informally referred to as the “Zone of Holes,” is situated in the Pisco Valley of southern Peru. It comprises around 5,200 meticulously aligned holes. Recent studies indicate that the site may have originally functioned as a barter market, bringing together a variety of people for trade.

Aerial view of Monte Sierpe looking northeast. Image credit: Jacob Bongers, University of Sydney.

Stretching over 1.5 km in the Pisco Valley of the southern Peruvian Andes, Monte Sierpe features approximately 5,200 carefully aligned holes (ranging from 1–2 m in width and 0.5–1 m in depth) arranged in distinct sections.

This extraordinary structure likely dates back to at least the Late Middle Period (1000-1400 AD) and was actively used by the Incas (1400-1532 AD).

Initially brought to modern attention in 1933 following an aerial photo published in National Geographic, the specific purpose of the monument remains a mystery.

Speculations about its function include various roles such as defense, storage, accounting, water collection, fog capture, and horticulture, but the actual intent continues to elude researchers.

“What led ancient people to excavate over 5,000 holes in the hills of southern Peru? Were they used for gardens? Did they provide water? Did they serve agricultural purposes?” inquires Dr. Jacob Bongers, a digital archaeologist from the University of Sydney.

“While we cannot ascertain their purpose, our new data offers significant clues and supports emerging theories regarding the site’s utilization.”

Utilizing drone technology, Dr. Bongers and his team mapped the site, uncovering numerical patterns in its layout that indicate intentional organization.

Interestingly, the archaeologists also found that the configuration of Monte Sierpe resembles that of at least one Inca quipu (an ancient knotted string for accounting) discovered in the same valley.

“This discovery significantly enhances our understanding of the origins and variety of indigenous accounting practices both within and outside the Andes,” noted Dr. Bongers.

Soil samples taken from the holes revealed ancient maize pollen, one of the Andes’ key staple crops, along with reeds traditionally utilized for basket making for millennia.

These surprising findings indicate that ancient people likely planted crops in the holes, using woven baskets and bundles for transport.

“This is quite intriguing. Perhaps this area functioned as a pre-Inca market, akin to a flea market,” remarked Dr. Bongers.

“We estimate that the pre-Hispanic population in this region was around 100,000. It likely served as a meeting point for traveling merchants, including llama caravan traders, as well as local professionals like farmers and fishermen to trade goods like corn and cotton.”

“Fundamentally, I believe these holes served as a form of social technology that unified individuals and later evolved into a comprehensive accounting system under the Inca Empire.”

“Numerous questions remain: Why is this monument unique to this location and not found throughout the Andes?”

“Was Monte Sierpe a type of ‘landscape’? – Nevertheless, we are gradually moving closer to unraveling the mysteries of this fascinating site. It’s genuinely exciting.”

Refer to the study published in the Journal on November 10, 2025 ancient.

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Jacob L. Bongers et al. Indigenous accounting and interaction at Monte Sierpe (“Band of Holes”), Pisco Valley, Peru. ancient published online on November 10, 2025. doi: 10.15184/aqy.2025.10237

Source: www.sci.news

The Giant of San Abbas Served as a Gathering Base for the West Saxon Army, According to Archaeologists

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A giant naked figure called Sarn Giant It was carved into the Dorset hillside not in prehistory or early modern times, as many think, but in the early Middle Ages, particularly in the 9th or 10th century, when there was much interest in the classical hero Hercules. It is said that it was at the beginning.to new paper in diary Speculum. He was probably created to mark the meeting place for West Saxon military meetings on the lands of the chieftains of the western provinces. By the mid-11th century, he was repurposed by monasteries founded or re-founded at his feet. St. Eadwolda convenient way to erase Hercules and declare the monastery's rights to the saint's relics.

Sarn Abbas Giant, Sarn Abbas, Dorset, England. Image credit: Ray Gaffney.

The Sarne Giant is a gigantic statue of a naked man carved into chalk rock on a hillside above the village of Sarne Abbas in Dorset, England.

He is approximately 55 meters (180 feet) tall, wielding a club in his right hand and extending his left arm.

The feet are turned to the right as if walking. His bald head is teardrop shaped with his eyes, eyebrows, nose, and mouth.

His naked torso shows an erect penis, nipples, ribs, belt, and belly button. The latter appears to have been incorporated into his phallus in 1908, and is now more prominent than originally.

When the Cerne Giant was first carved has been debated for centuries.

Dr Helen Gittos, a researcher at the University of Oxford, said: “It turns out that the Sarne Giant is just the most prominent of a whole group of early medieval features in the landscape.”

“While Hercules was well known in the Middle Ages as a flawed hero who was both admired and criticized, interest in Hercules in particular increased in the 9th century.”

“By at least the 10th century, Cern was in the hands of the elders of the western provinces, the leading lords of the kings of the south-west.”

“The Tern Giant's topographical location, on a spur projecting from a ridge, makes it a unique type of Anglo-Saxon meeting place in that it has spectacular views and is close to major highways.”

“Nearby Viking attacks, access to abundant fresh water, and local land supplies made this an ideal location to muster a West Saxon army against the backdrop of Hercules.”

In the 11th century, the monks worshiping at the monastery at the foot of Giant Hill reimagined the Giant of Sarne as a statue of their saint Eadwald, implicit in the lessons they read on that feast day. I mentioned this person.

This is one of the many ways the Cologne giants have been reinterpreted over the centuries, from Hercules to the Hermit.

“The identity of the Cern giant was already open to reinterpretation,” said Dr. Tom Morkom, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Oslo.

“The monks of Cern would not have depicted their patron saint as a naked saint if they had carved their patron saint from scratch, but they gladly adopted him as a statue of Eadwald for their own purposes. .”

“Giant has long been loved and cherished, and that rediscovery continues today.”

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Thomas Morcombe and Helen Gittos. 2024. Giant of Cologne in the early Middle Ages. Speculum 99 (1): 1-38; doi: 10.1086/727992

Source: www.sci.news