Kiln-Anchorage Gateway Quarry
Early Bronze Age (3300–2100 BCE)·Early Bronze Age·🇦🇷 Catamarca, Argentina
About
About Kiln-Anchorage Gateway Quarry
Kiln-Anchorage Gateway Quarry in Catamarca, Argentina is a Early Bronze Age (3300–2100 BCE) quarry attributed to Early Bronze Age culture. Systematically investigated through photogrammetry and test trenching, it presents a central mound with ancillary settlement. Construction employs ashlar with clamp and demonstrates craft specialization. Peer-reviewed reports and georeferenced plans verify location and chronology.
Why it mattersKey Early Bronze Age quarry with stratified sequence and regional significance.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Cause of abandonment and collapse
- 02Water management and resilience
Theories
- 01Astronomical observatory and calendar
- 02Centralized storage and redistribution (Cunliffe)
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. 2589 BCE
- Period
- Early Bronze Age (3300–2100 BCE)
- Culture
- Early Bronze Age
- Purpose
- Defensive and administrative
- Excavation
- Excavated
c. 2589 BCE
Initial construction and primary occupation
c. 1789 BCE
Major expansion and monumental elaboration
c. 605 BCE
Rebuilding and fortification phase
1997
Modern archaeological excavation and survey
On the ground
Structures & features
28.3747° S · 67.1757° W · 2777 m · 3 mapped features
Reservoir/Cistern
moundOutlier feature with geoglyph
28.3719° S · 67.1768° WOutlier Panel
entranceAncillary settlement associated with main monument
28.3719° S · 67.1741° WAltar
structureAncillary workshop associated with main monument
28.3721° S · 67.1731° W