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News Link • Archaeology

'Sacred' pyramid built by forgotten civilization in Amazon rainforest may be world's tal

• https://www.dailymail.co, By CHRIS MELORE

A strange peak in the middle of the Amazon rainforest may actually be the largest pyramid ever built in the ancient world.

Known as Cerro El Cono, this massive, pyramid-shaped formation is cloaked in mystery due to both its striking structure and the extreme difficulty of reaching it. 

The 1,310-foot-tall, pyramid-shaped hill sits in Peru's Sierra del Divisor National Park, near the Ucayali River in the Amazon. 

Unlike other mountains, however, this extremely steep peak has a set of distinct flat surfaces - like the Great Pyramid of Giza - which have been covered by vegetation over the centuries.

Moreover, this one great peak sticks out from the completely flat rainforest around it, adding to the speculation that Cerro El Cono may not be a natural formation.

While scientists believe the giant hill is just a geological oddity, possibly a volcano or natural rock formation, local Indigenous tribes revere Cerro El Cono as a sacred mountain spirit which protects their communities, calling it 'Andean Apu.'

This ancient tradition of worshipping mountain spirits dates back to a time before the Inca Empire, between 500 and 1000 CE, but another theory surrounding Cerro El Cono predates even these ancient myths.

Although the few studies of this area have yet to find evidence to prove it, local legends claim that Cerro El Cono sits on the ruins of an ancient pyramid built by a long forgotten civilization that lived in the Amazon.

According to Peruvian news outlet La República, fringe researchers have picked up on the local folklore of the Indigenous tribes, believing that Cerro El Cono ('Cone Hill' in English) is a man-made structure just like the Great Pyramid at Giza.

If this were proven true, it would make Cerro El Cono (1,310 feet) the tallest ancient structure in history, soaring past Giza's 481 feet.

In fact, this incredibly steep structure would stand more than three times taller than any other ancient pyramid or temple that has been discovered.

Cerro El Cono may one day join the growing list of mysterious ancient structures, some of which predate the Egyptian pyramids.

One of these ancient structures is Gunung Padang, first re-discovered by Dutch explorers in 1890, and said to be the world's oldest pyramid.

Studies show that the 98-foot-deep 'megalith' submerged within a hill of lava rock dates back more than 16,000 years.

In 2023, scientists said the structure promises to upend the conventional wisdom on just how 'primitive' hunter-gather societies actually were - revealing the true 'engineering capabilities of ancient civilizations.'


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