Huaca del Sol (Grand Moche Pyramid)
Huaca del Sol · Temple of the Sun (Moche) · Grand Pyramid of Moche Valley · Huaca del Sol (Moche Capital)
Early Intermediate Moche (100–800 CE, peak Moche III–IV 400–600 CE)·Moche (Mochica, north coast, Moche Valley capital)·🇵🇪 La Libertad Region, Moche Valley 5 km south of Trujillo city, left bank Moche River, Peru
About
About Huaca del Sol (Grand Moche Pyramid)
Largest adobe structure in Americas: Huaca del Sol (Moche 100–800 CE, peak 400–600 CE) 342×159 m base, 41 m high preserved (original maybe 50 m) with four stepped platforms, built in ~140 million adobe bricks (many with Moche maker's marks). Truncated temple-pyramid with western administrative town and plaza between Del Sol and Huaca de la Luna 500 m west. Portrait of Moche state capital (Cerro Blanco). Conquistadors diverted Moche River to sluice one-third of pyramid for gold looting (colonial hydraulic destruction visible as great gash). Excavated Uhle 1898–1900, Moseley-Hastings.
Why it mattersLargest adobe brick pyramid in Americas; Moche capital and colonial destruction exemplar; adobe mark craft organization study.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01140 million bricks logistics — corvée vs mit'a
- 02Spanish hydraulic gash gold yield legend
Theories
- 01Huaca del Sol as royal palace-pyramid vs Huaca de la Luna as temple-pyramid pair (administrative-binary city)
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c.100–600 CE multi-phase, main mass c.400 CE
- Period
- Early Intermediate Moche (100–800 CE, peak Moche III–IV 400–600 CE)
- Culture
- Moche (Mochica, north coast, Moche Valley capital)
- Purpose
- Grand state pyramid and platform for Moche ruler residence — colonial river-sluiced pyramid illustrating conquistador destruction
- Excavation
- Partially excavated
c.100–600 CE multi-phase, main mass c.400 CE
Initial construction / foundation
c. 850 CE
Major use phase and refurbishment
20th century
Modern archaeological survey and excavation
On the ground
Structures & features
8.1350° S · 79.0600° W · 18 m · 3 mapped features
Huaca del Sol massif
pyramid342×159 m grand adobe pyramid 41 m high four steps
8.1350° S · 79.0600° WColonial hydraulic gash
gashRiver-sluiced trench removing one-third east side
8.1352° S · 79.0595° WBetween-plaza
plaza500×400 m plaza linking Del Sol to Luna 500 m west
8.1350° S · 79.0620° W