Gate of the Sun

The Gate of the Sun, also known as the Gateway of the Sun (in older literature simply called "(great) monolithic Gateway of Ak-kapana"), is a monolithic gateway at the site of Tiahuanaco, built by the Tiwanaku culture, an Andean civilization of Bolivia that thrived around Lake Titicaca in the Andes of western South America around AD 500–950. 0 m) above sea level near La Paz, Bolivia. 0 m) wide, and was carved from a single piece of stone. Its weight is estimated to be 10 tons.

When rediscovered by European explorers in the mid-19th century, the megalith was lying horizontally and had a large crack through it. It presently stands in the location where it was found, although it is believed that this is not its original site, which remains uncertain. Antigüedades peruanas (1851) uses an engraving of the gateway as the frontispiece to its folio. Some elements of Tiwanaku iconography spread throughout Peru and parts of Bolivia.

Although there have been various modern interpretations of the inscriptions found on the object, the carvings that decorate th