Mystery of the 230 Foot Long Killer Whale Geoglyph Found

Credit: Johny Isla

Lost Geoglyph – Representation of a Killer Whale

 
A long lost geoglyph has been discovered by archaeologist that has been carved in the remote Palpa region of southern Peru in the Peruvian hillside. Palpa is situated near the province of Nazca – home to the extensive region of ‘Nazca Lines’, drawn by the Nazca people between 100 BC and AD 800.

This amazing representation of a killer whale extents more than 200 feet and is presumed to date back over 2,000 years, thus making it one of the oldest than those of the famous Nazca Lines which is in close proximity. According to experts the people who had once inhabited the region considered the orca as a powerful marine deity and the said geoglyph could be among the ancient in the region.

They state that the killer whale was probably created by removal of layer of stones along the landscape outlining its figure. Though the method has been similar to the one utilised by the Nazca culture, the researchers state that there are variations between the two, signifying that the Palpa orca tends to be much older. The eyes of the orca together with the other areas of the design are said to be made by piling the stones.
 

Location & Size - Not Defined

 
According to the researchers, this had been a trademark of the Paracas culture that had inhabited the region from 800 BC to 200 BC. The Paracas culture as per the Bradshaw Foundation was an Andean society well-known to have extensive information of irrigation and water management.

The people of this ancient period, beside the remarkable geoglyphs, also made incredible textiles. The orca geoglyph had been located by a team of German archaeologists in the 1960s though for decades thereafter, was considered lost as per the Bradshaw Foundation.

As per the records, few traces of it prevailed though it was eventually located once again due to efforts led by Johny Isla, head of the Ica branch of the Ministry of Culture in Ica Province of Peru. The orca engraving measuring 230-foot long had been identified in the Palpa region of southern Peru.

As per the reports of Live Science, at first, the team made an effort to locate it by scouring Google Earth but its location as well as size had not been well defined. Johny Isla has mentioned in an email to Live Science, that the location and size of the orca geoglyph have not been well-described in the catalog.
 

Disappearing Due to Erosion

 
According to Live Science, the team had come back to this area in order to re-establish and clean the geoglyph. Ultimately in January 2015, the archaeologist decided to venture on foot and located it after several months of searching.

The immense orca drawing before restoration was disappearing due to erosion over a period of time. Being craved on a slope it become prone to damage than those figures which are in flat areas like those of the Nazca Pampa according to Isla.

The experts have now warned that the freshly revived site is said to be in danger of `land traffickers’ who have hazarded their claims and have threaten to build on the land.