Pyramids of Guimar
When you think of mysterious pyramids, the first that come to mind are those
in Egypt, perhaps followed by the ones in the remoter parts of the Amazon Basin
or the Central American highlands. However, the most mysterious pyramids are
those found in the Canary Islands, particularly on the largest island of
Tenerife.
The Canary Islands are one of the holiday hot spots of Europe, with most of the
development in Tenerife in the resort communities on the southern coast; booking
a travel expedition to Güímar is a nice day trip – it's about an hour and a half
away by bus, and another hour to tour the village.
Güímar has a nice array of sunny beaches, and is farther away from the
commercial developments of the south coast of Tenerife; it has architecture and
churches dating back to the conquest of the island in the 15th century, which
was the first real expansion of Spanish colonialism in the Canary Islands.
However, aside from the appeal of a more laid back holiday spot, the principle
appeal of Güímar are its mysterious pyramids. Theories abound about the
Pyramids, which date back to the days of the Spanish Conquest, and are mentioned
in the earlier writings by Roman visitors to the islands, though in the writings
of Pliny the Elder, the Romans say the Canaries are completely uninhabited. Even
to the Romans, these pyramids were mysteries.
These pyramids are low, stepped sided pyramids, similar to the ones seen in
Central and Mesoamerica, as constructed by the Mayans. The conventional theory
is that they were made by local farmers clearing out rocks from the fields as
they were being plowed; the similarity to agricultural terraces is a decent
corroboration. It's also known that several of the pyramids have underground
chambers beneath them – they were used by the native Guanches people as hiding
places when the Spaniards came.
A much more opportunistic theory was proposed by Thor Heyerdahl in the early
1990s. Heyerdahl, who demonstrated that it was possible to cross the Pacific
using Polynesian style outriggers (Kontiki Expedition), and had also crossed the
Atlantic from Morocco to Barbados on a Papyrus boat, contends that the Canary
Islands were a major trans-shipment point for trade crossing the Atlantic from
the Mediterranean to the Americas in ancient times.
Points in Heyerdahl's favour include the fact that the stones appear to be
igneous basalt that's been worked, rather than the granite found in the local
fields of the area. The ground was also levelled before construction, and the
way the pyramids are arranged may have special astronomical significance, given
where the steps are and where the sight lines run, and what stars are visible
during the summer solstice.
A further point is that the great circulating current of the Atlantic Ocean
flows westward from the Canaries; it's the same route Columbus took in his
voyages, and the Canaries were a major transshipment point during the era of
Spanish Colonialism. It is plausible that at one point, the Canaries were, in
pre-Roman times, used as a "meeting place" between Mesoamerican and perhaps
Carthaginian traders.
Fortunately, a decade ago, the Spanish government declared the Pyramids to be an
ethnological feature worth study, and opened up two of them for tourists, while
closing the remaining four off for study by archaeologists. There is an
extensive information centre, covering Heyerdahl's theories, the voyages he
undertook, and a lot of information on the current knowledge of these mysterious
ancient buildings.
On your next holiday to Tenerife you should find time to pay a visit to the
mysterious pyramids of Güímar.
Recommended Reading:
Pyramids of
Guimar
Pyramids
in Spain
Pirámides de Güímar - Official Website
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