Paracas Candelabra

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{{short description|Prehistoric geoglyph in Peru}}

File:Paracas Candelabra - Ica, Peru.jpg

The Paracas Candelabra, also called the Candelabra of the Andes, or El Candelabro (the Trident), is a well-known prehistoric geoglyph found on the northern face of the Paracas Peninsula at Pisco Bay in Peru.{{cite book |last1=Papalexandrou |first1=Nassos |title=CONSTRUCTED LANDSCAPES |publisher=Stanford Journal of Archaeology |page=176 |edition=Vol 5 2007 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/273001622 |access-date=24 September 2024}} Pottery found nearby has been radio carbon dated to 200 BCE, the time of the Paracas culture.{{Cite web|author=Jennifer Nalewicki|url=https://www.smithsonianmag.com/travel/five-planets-most-mysterious-geoglyphs-180962917/|title=Where to See Five of the Planet's Most Mysterious Geoglyphs|publisher=Smithsonian Magazine}} The design is cut {{convert|2|ft|cm|-1|abbr=on|order=flip}} into the soil, with stones possibly from a later date placed around it. The figure is {{convert|170|m|ft|abbr=on|sp=us}} tall and {{convert|60|m|ft|abbr=on|sp=us}} wide, large enough to be seen {{convert|12|mi|km|0|abbr=on|order=flip}} at sea.

In 2016, it was designated as a national heritage site by Peru, with Peruvian law dictating a jail term of between three and six years for anyone damaging any archaeological monument.{{cite news |last= |first= |date=12 July 2022|title=Tourists trample all over protected, prehistoric Peruvian hill carving|url=https://www.france24.com/en/live-news/20220712-tourists-trample-all-over-protected-prehistoric-peruvian-hill-carving|newspaper=France24|access-date= 20 March 2024}}

Peruvian archaeologist Maria Reiche measured the geoglyph and found Paracas style pottery which she dated to around 200 BCE. The geoglyph is related to the Nazca lines.{{cite web |last1=Mendoza |first1=Ana Maria Cogorno |title=The Nazca Lines: A Life's Work |url=https://www.worldhistory.org/article/1395/the-nazca-lines-a-lifes-work/ |website=World History Encyclopedia |publisher=World History Encyclopedia |access-date=12 July 2024 |language=en}}