{"it":{"id":"SAM-QUI","kind":"site","sub":"South America","name":"Quillarumiyoq (Killarumiyoq)","place":"Peru","lat":-13.443,"lon":-72.309,"date":"see measurements","mat":"limestone (marine origin per sources)","nfacts":8,"tags":["Andes","Creation myths"],"sum":"Killarumiyoq, about 46 to 50 km from Cusco at 3,650 m, is a ceremonial complex of about 5 hectares. Its name in Quechua means \"the stone of the moon\".","src":[423],"nsrc":6,"why":"A carved Inca hillside near Cusco, named for the moon and still honoured every 31 August.","yt":"Its name means stone of the moon, yet no survey of its sight lines is on record. What would you measure first?","rel":["SAM-006","SAM-014"],"hook":"Killarumiyoq, a 5-hectare moon shrine near Cusco, is still honoured every 31 August."},"S":{"423":["Wikipedia: Killarumiyuq","https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killarumiyuq"]},"rec":{"id":"SAM-QUI","alias":[],"ms":[{"f":"moon stone","a":"size","v":"1.90 x 1.56","u":"m","o":"","unc":"","by":"Kondor Path Tours (tour site)","yr":"","m":"as stated","c":"Kondor Path Tours (tour site)","pg":"","url":"https://www.kondorpathtours.com/blog/moonstone-quillarumiyoc-information/","b":"S","bb":"","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M3000"},{"f":"moon stone ridge","a":"height","v":"0.42","u":"m","o":"","unc":"","by":"Kondor Path Tours (tour site)","yr":"","m":"as stated","c":"Kondor Path Tours (tour site)","pg":"","url":"https://www.kondorpathtours.com/blog/moonstone-quillarumiyoc-information/","b":"S","bb":"","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M3001"},{"f":"moon stone inner base","a":"diameter","v":"0.85","u":"m","o":"","unc":"","by":"Kondor Path Tours (tour site)","yr":"","m":"as stated","c":"Kondor Path Tours (tour site)","pg":"","url":"https://www.kondorpathtours.com/blog/moonstone-quillarumiyoc-information/","b":"S","bb":"","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M3002"},{"f":"moon stone","a":"rock type","v":"limestone (marine origin)","u":"text","o":"","unc":"","by":"Kondor Path Tours (tour site)","yr":"","m":"as stated","c":"Kondor Path Tours (tour site)","pg":"","url":"https://www.kondorpathtours.com/blog/moonstone-quillarumiyoc-information/","b":"S","bb":"","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M3003"},{"f":"site","a":"distance from Cusco","v":"~50 km NW","u":"km","o":"","unc":"","by":"Kondor Path Tours (tour site)","yr":"","m":"as stated","c":"Kondor Path Tours (tour site)","pg":"","url":"https://www.kondorpathtours.com/blog/moonstone-quillarumiyoc-information/","b":"S","bb":"","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M3004"},{"f":"carved rock","a":"size","v":"4.80 h x 14 l","u":"m","o":"","unc":"","by":"Andina news agency","yr":"","m":"as stated","c":"Andina news agency","pg":"","url":"https://andina.pe/agencia/noticia-esperan-10000-turistas-escenificacion-del-killarumiyoq-raymi-provincia-cusquena-anta-312170.aspx","b":"S","bb":"","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"different feature than moon stone?","id":"M3005"},{"f":"site point","a":"elevation (DEM SRTM 30 m)","v":"3677","u":"m","o":"","unc":"","by":"NASA SRTM via OpenTopoData","yr":"2026","m":"as stated","c":"NASA SRTM via OpenTopoData","pg":"","url":"https://api.opentopodata.org/v1/srtm30m","b":"S","bb":"","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"coordinate single-source","id":"M3043"},{"f":"site point","a":"elevation (DEM ASTER 30 m)","v":"3696","u":"m","o":"","unc":"","by":"NASA/METI ASTER GDEM via OpenTopoData","yr":"2026","m":"as stated","c":"NASA/METI ASTER GDEM via OpenTopoData","pg":"","url":"https://api.opentopodata.org/v1/aster30m","b":"S","bb":"","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"coordinate single-source","id":"M3044"}],"lab":[],"eng":[],"ori":[],"gaps":[{"a":"key_structure_dims","r":"not found in free sources reached"},{"a":"largest_block","r":"not found in free sources reached"},{"a":"block_mass","r":"not found in free sources reached"},{"a":"stone_count","r":"not found in free sources reached"},{"a":"slope_face_angle","r":"no published face/slope angle in sources reached (often n/a for non-pyramidal sites)"},{"a":"wall_batter","r":"no published batter survey in free sources"},{"a":"orientation","r":"no published azimuth reached"},{"a":"corner_precision","r":"no published precision survey in free sources"},{"a":"levelness","r":"no published levelling survey in free sources"},{"a":"geochem_petro","r":"not found in free sources reached"},{"a":"quarry_source","r":"not found in free sources reached"},{"a":"mortar","r":"dry-stone construction or no binder analysis in free sources"},{"a":"tool_marks","r":"no tool-mark study in free sources reached"},{"a":"dating","r":"no absolute date extracted"},{"a":"volume_labor","r":"no volume/labour estimate in sources opened"},{"a":"construction_phases","r":"no phase sequence in sources opened"},{"a":"lab_date_material","r":"no lab date with dated material in sources opened"},{"a":"hydrology_acoustics","r":"no published hydrology/acoustic measurement in sources opened"},{"a":"magnetic_radiation","r":"no published magnetic/radiation survey found (searched site name + magnetometry/radiation; Wikipedia, Google Scholar snippets)"},{"a":"metals_clamps","r":"no metal/clamp evidence reported in sources opened"},{"a":"excavation_history","r":"no excavation history row yet"},{"a":"artifacts_found","r":"no finds row yet"}],"dat":[],"aa":[{"id":"AA041","a":"moon-stone precision","who":"Brien Foerster, Lost Ancient Technology of Peru and Bolivia ch.19 (TOC opened)","main":"Inca lunar huaca","ms":"https://www.kondorpathtours.com/blog/moonstone-quillarumiyoc-information/","st":"unresolved","n":"tour-source dims only; single coordinate","nl":5}],"ac":[{"v":"moon temple with precise lost-technology carving","who":"Brien Foerster, Lost Ancient Technology of Peru and Bolivia ch.19 (TOC opened)","url":"https://hiddenincatours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Lost-Ancient-Technology-Of-Peru-And-Bolivi-Brien-Foerster.pdf","b":"I","ce":"carved limestone; Inca ritual site"}],"me":[{"v":"Inca lunar huaca","ev":"tour/inventory sources only","s":"https://www.kondorpathtours.com/blog/moonstone-quillarumiyoc-information/"}],"ci":[],"cq":[],"sd":[],"sub":[],"site":{"age":"see measurements","dm":"","lab":"NO","weak":"","unesco":"","dens":"STUB"},"co":{"lat":"-13.44258","lon":"-72.30927","src":"OSM way 767550565 only","agree":"single source","b":"S","note":"only one coordinate source found (no Wikidata item)","osm":""},"src":[{"id":null,"t":"Kondor Path Tours (tour site)","u":"https://www.kondorpathtours.com/blog/moonstone-quillarumiyoc-information/"},{"id":null,"t":"Andina news agency","u":"https://andina.pe/agencia/noticia-esperan-10000-turistas-escenificacion-del-killarumiyoq-raymi-provincia-cusquena-anta-312170.aspx"},{"id":null,"t":"NASA SRTM via OpenTopoData","u":"https://api.opentopodata.org/v1/srtm30m"},{"id":null,"t":"NASA/METI ASTER GDEM via OpenTopoData","u":"https://api.opentopodata.org/v1/aster30m"},{"id":null,"t":"https://hiddenincatours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Lost-Ancient-Technology-Of-Peru-And-Bolivi-Brien-Foerster.pdf","u":"https://hiddenincatours.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/Lost-Ancient-Technology-Of-Peru-And-Bolivi-Brien-Foerster.pdf"},{"id":null,"t":"Wikipedia: Killarumiyuq","u":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killarumiyuq"},{"id":"VSAM-QUI-7","t":"MINCETUR Peru: tourism resource inventory record 10868","u":"https://consultasenlinea.mincetur.gob.pe/fichaInventario/index.aspx?cod_Ficha=10868"},{"id":"VSAM-QUI-8","t":"Turismo Peruano: Sitio arqueológico de Killarumiyoq, Cusco","u":"https://www.turismoperuano.com/sitio-arqueologico-de-killarumiyoq-cusco"}],"sum":"# Killarumiyoq: The Moon Stone of Anta\n\nIn the northeast of the ceremonial plaza at Killarumiyoq there is a stone shaped like a condor. Peru's tourism inventory describes it with its beak apparently driven into the ground. Thirty-seven metres away is the reason anyone came here at all: a limestone rock carved into a stepped half-moon, beside a waterfall that pours down from a sacred mountain. The empire that built it is remembered as a kingdom of the Sun. This place belonged to the Moon.\n\n## The stone of the moon\n\nKillarumiyoq, also written Quillarumiyoq or Quillarumiyoc, lies in Ancahuasi district, in the province of Anta, west of Cusco in Peru. The name comes from Quechua: killa, moon, and rumi, stone, with a suffix that marks ownership. Wikipedia renders it \"the one with a moon stone,\" and the inventory \"the stone of the Moon.\"\n\nThe inventory calls it one of the most impressive complexes dedicated to Mama Quilla, the moon goddess of the Inca world, linked with the tides, the growth of plants and the fertility of the land. At about 5 hectares, it says, it is the largest ceremonial centre in the region dedicated to her, combining temples and lunar calendars. Another Peruvian tourism listing adds that in Inca tradition Mama Quilla was the sister and wife of Inti, the Sun, and stood beside him in equal rank. The site was declared an archaeological site by national resolution RDN 150 on 25 March 2003.\n\n## The carving\n\nThe main huaca, a finely carved rock that stands for the moon by its shape, sits in the ravine of a stream that shares the site's name. In 2010 the state news agency Andina reported that the carving is a half-moon in low relief with seven steps, set in a limestone rock 4.80 m high and 14 m long. The local mayor at the time said the seven steps stand for the seven colours of the rainbow. A tour operator, Kondor Path Tours, gives the carved moon as 1.90 m by 1.56 m, with a raised edge of 0.42 m and an inner base 0.85 m across, and describes the rock as limestone of marine origin. The two sets of figures measure different things, the whole rock and the carving on it, so they do not clash.\n\nThe same operator writes that from a distance the rock looks like the profile of a puma, with the carved crescent as its eye. Whether that likeness was intended is not something any source tests.\n\nA waterfall coming down from Apu Soqomarka, the sacred mountain above the site, passes in front of the carving. The tour operator gives Soqomarka a height of 4,850 m and says it features in most local ceremonies, with tombs and camelid pens on its slopes.\n\n## Sectors of a sacred hillside\n\nThe inventory divides the complex into sectors. Tankarqaqa, also called Qaqatoqo, lies at the foot of a rocky outcrop, with rock shelters and a cave holding petroglyphs and carved figures that probably had a magical or religious meaning. An Inca retaining wall of cushioned stone there marks the last farming terrace.\n\nThe Killarumiyoq sector is the core. Its Phaccha subsector has zigzag walls with trapezoidal niches, set beside the waterfall. The ceremonial plaza holds a rock outcrop that probably served as another huaca, as well as the condor stone and finely cut walls in a cushioned polygonal style.\n\nQoriwayrachina has three platforms associated with water sources, surrounded by zigzag walls and enclosures with carved huacas at their bases. Inca Racay, a name the inventory glosses as \"place with an enclosure,\" has walls up to 3 m high in the same cushioned polygonal style. Its rectangular rooms, 14 to 36 m long and 3 to 16 m wide, are thought to have been used for rituals involving camelids and other animals. Some of the farming terraces are still used by nearby communities for grazing.\n\n## Who built it\n\nAccording to studies by the archaeologist Marino Sánchez Macedo, as Andina reported, the complex was built by the Inca ruler Túpac Yupanqui, son of Pachacútec. Sánchez judged it ceremonial because there are no houses around it. The tour operator mentions rooms used for housing in one sector, and also claims the site's origins go back more than 3,000 years, without evidence for that date. No published excavation report is cited in any of the sources.\n\nThe figures wander. The inventory gives 48.3 km from the main square of Cusco. Andina gives 46 km along the Cusco to Abancay road, and the operator about 50 km. The inventory gives an altitude of 3,650 m, as does the operator; another listing gives 3,540 m; satellite elevation models put the point near 3,680 to 3,700 m. The inventory's 5 hectares compares with the operator's 5,000 square metres, a tenth as much, and the operator adds that much of the site was buried by a landslide.\n\n## The sky question\n\nAndina reported that from the carving one can watch the Sun rise over the hill called Muyu Orcco. The tour operator adds a three-walled shrine, the Waca of the Masma, that faces east and was used to mark the winter solstice, a key moment in the farming year. The inventory speaks of lunar calendars.\n\nNone of the sources gives a measured survey of what the moon stone faces. A temple named for the moon, holding a carving shaped like the moon, has never had its sightlines to moonrise or moonset published. That is not a mystery so much as an unfinished job, and it is one that could be done with a compass, a horizon profile and a few nights of patience.\n\n## A rite that returns\n\nKillarumiyoq is not only a ruin. The inventory records visitors who come for meditation and offerings to Pachamama, and says the site is in good condition under the care of the regional culture office. Its 2025 sample count recorded 1,530 local day visitors and 990 foreign tourists.\n\nEvery 31 August, the inventory says, the site comes alive with the Killarumiyoq Raymi, a staged ceremony to the Moon. Andina covered the third edition in 2010, held that year on 29 August, with 300 performers and rituals for farming, fertility and water, and 10,000 visitors expected. The festival is young. The stone is not.\n\n## The question that comes back each August\n\nThe performers come to the half-moon each year with offerings and music. Farmers below still graze animals on the old terraces. Between the carved stone and the modern rite lie centuries with almost no record. When the dancers return to the waterfall next 31 August, how much of what they do is memory, and how much is a new way of asking the same stone the same old question?","qs":["Its name means stone of the moon, yet no survey of its sight lines is on record. What would you measure first?","Why would a moon temple need a waterfall and zigzag walls?","A festival still runs here every 31 August. What does a living rite tell us that the stones cannot?"]},"img":null,"md":{"h":"img/m/SAM-QUI-16x9.webp","w":1600,"hh":900,"alt":"Illustration: setting associated with Quillarumiyoq (Killarumiyoq), Peru","by":"Illustration made for The Nommo","lic":"","lu":"","p":"","g":true,"ct":false,"cap":"","sec":[]},"hh":null,"hs":{}}