A gateway from a single stone
The Tiwanaku Sun Gate stands at an altitude of 3,825 meters (12,549 feet) on the high plains of Bolivia. This monumental arch is approximately 3 meters (9.8 feet) tall and 4 meters (13 feet) wide, with an estimated weight of 10 tons. The entire structure was carved from a single block of grey andesite. When European explorers documented the gate in the mid-19th century, they found it lying horizontally with a large crack through its upper right side. Today it stands upright in the Kalasasaya temple enclosure, though this is not believed to be its original location.
The gate's most prominent feature is a bas-relief frieze above the doorway. At its center is a figure widely identified as a principal Tiwanaku deity, possibly a forerunner to the Inca creator god Viracocha. This central figure holds a staff in each hand, and its head is surrounded by 24 rays that some interpret as solar rays. Flanking this deity are 48 smaller, winged figures arranged in three rows. Thirty-two of these attendants have human heads, while the other 16 have avian heads, possibly representing condors. All of the figures appear to be running toward the central deity.