Free Republic

A vast stone temple built 1,000 years ago by one of South America's most powerful civilizations has been uncovered in the Andes.Archaeologists discovered the temple, known as Palaspata, atop a ridge in the remote highlands southeast of Lake Titicaca, near the small community of Ocotavi in western Bolivia.The large structure was the craftsmanship of the Tiwanaku civilization, which left a mark on the world with impressive stone structures, advanced irrigation systems, and unique art and pottery before vanishing around 1000AD.Covering an area roughly the size of a city block, the site measures approximately 410 feet long by 476 feet wide.It...

Destruction at Tiwanaku and Puma Punku Both sites look like they have been hit with a tidal wave or some other kind of cataclysm. The stones, some weighing up to 80 tons, are scattered around both sites, and often embedded within the mud. Some excavation has been done there, most recently at the Kantatalita Temple at Tiwanaku, and Puma Punku , where they have now revealed that it is a great platform pyramid, similar, but much larger than Tiwanaku’s Akapana Pyramid. The massive pyramid would have once touched the edge of Lake Titicaca . However, the legendary lake is now...