THE ALMOGAREN OF RISCO CAÍDO: A SINGULAR ASTRONOMICAL SANCTUARY OF THE ANCIENT CANARIANS

Abstract

The almogaren (rock-cut sanctuary) of Risco Caído was discovered in 1996 in the Canary island of Gran

Canaria. It is a paradigmatic example of a complex where light and shadow effects of an astronomical

character have been found within the recent archaeological discoveries of a religious and ritual character in

the Canaries. The main artificially excavated camera of the cultural complex Cave 6 takes the form of a

cylinder, topped with a dome in the form of paraboloid. In this dome, a 2m long tunnel is excavated by

which the light of the Sun penetrates at dawn, from spring to autumn equinoxes. The entering light projects

enigmatic images on the western wall of the sanctuary, where numerous pubic triangles (vulvae − the

universal symbol of fertility −) are recorded in low relief. Two dots of light of the sun first illuminate the

decorated wall in March 19th (and september 25th) in the proleptic Gregorian Calendar, colliding and

forming a single image for the time of the equinox, thus allowing the determination of a rough midpoint in

time between the solstices. The rising and ascending sun then penetrates the cave during the spring and

summer months, reaching its extreme at the moment of the summer solstice when the light takes a form

roughly resembling a phallus illuminating the vulvae. This paper will desscribe the site and these series of

illuminating effects and will discuss how this could have been interpreted by the ancient inhabitants of the

island within the context of a lunar-solar calendar related to the cycle of fertility and permanent regeneration

of life.