Considered one of the oldest pyramidal huacas in the Moche Valley, the dragon huaca, also known as the rainbow huaca, is located at the foot of the Pan-American Highway, in the district of Esperanza, on the outskirts of the city. of Trujillo and near the archaeological complex of Chan Chan.
According to the North American researcher Richard Schaedell, the huaca could be about 1100 years old, so it would be located between the periods of development of regional cultures that lie between the Chavín and Tiahuanaco horizons and would belong to the Chimú culture, although other archaeologists indicate that this shrine was built between 800 and 1000 AD so it would correspond to the Moche Culture.
The complex of the huaca del Dragón, is within an area of 3245 square meters, and a perimeter of 228 meters, and is made of adobe and mud almost quadrangular and whose walls have variegated shapes, in addition construction once more surprises us, because it allows us to observe the high degree of development as anti-seismic engineering that the Wari possessed.
The main structure presents a succession of overlapping platforms oriented east-west, although it is presumed that originally it had to have three floors and that one of its functions was to carry out religious celebrations in honor of the rainbow and other natural phenomena.
This huaca reaches a height of approximately 10 meters, inside the building we can find corridors, platforms and a ramp that gives access to the upper door, on the walls you can see reliefs with different motifs, among which a rainbow stands out, so it is also known by this name, as well as being a symbol of fertility and rainfall.
However, the name of Huaca del Dragón occurred because in one of its main walls (under the aforementioned rainbows) there is a pair of snakes, one of which has two heads and the other ends in a tail. fish, although some historians resemble these figures to the two sexes, in the case of the two-headed serpent can be seen holding a tumi or ceremonial knife, the reiteration of this animal is associated with other cultures, for which it was also symbol of water and fertility of the much appreciated land, in addition to these images, its walls also describe representations of zoomorphic and anthropomorphic figures.
Within this structure, we can highlight the presence of fourteen warehouse rooms, also known as Colcas, in these stores were stored seeds and other agricultural products from different regions, indicating that it was not only a religious place, but also a stockpiling of goods that supplied a particular community.
It is worth mentioning that, in the study of this huaca, researchers found twenty-five wooden idols, which had a hunchbacked appearance, with incrustations of shells in different parts of the body, which were possibly used as amulets.
The hours of access to this huaca are from 9:00 hrs. at 16:30 hrs, every day of the year, and you, what do you expect, come and enjoy this wonderful place. Trujillo and Peru await you ...
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