Band of Holes – Wikipedia

Archaeological sites in Peru

band of holesalso known as in spanish monte sirpe (Serpent Mountain) or Cerro Viruela (Smallpox Hill), a series of approximately 5,000–6,000 human-sized holes^[1] Found in the Pisco Valley on the Nazca Plateau in Peru. Local people have no idea who made them or how they were used. Over the years, it has been speculated that they were tombs, defensive sites or storage places.^[2] The recent idea is that they were storage pits built during the time of the Inca Empire (1438–1533).^[1]

the band is in the middle 13°42′59.9″S 75°52′28.46″W13.716639°S 75.8745722°W/ -13.716639; -75.8745722 And 13°42′20″S 75°52′28.46″W13.70556°S 75.8745722°W/ -13.70556; -75.8745722 Extending basically in north-south direction over uneven terrain. The band starts at the edge of a valley and runs up the hill for about 1.5 km. The holes, actually pits with raised edges, are about 1 m in diameter and 50–100 cm deep. They are arranged in clear blocks or sections along a band whose width varies from 14–21 m, and the average width is about 19 m.^[1]

The site attracted modern attention in 1933, when aviator Robert Shippey published an aerial photograph. National Geographic,^[1]

Victor Wolfgang von Hagen surveyed the area in 1953 royal road of inca He described these as pre-Inca tombs, writing^[3] He:

These circular, though unused, stone tombs were arranged in seven to nine rows, and ran at an angle of 50° to a slope called Mount Sierpe, the “snaking” line of tombs reminding the man who named it of a snake. There are more than 5,000 such tombs; Empty, the tombs are as far as they are circular and made of stone, and have the same structure as those tombs found with mummies, weavings and pottery. For years since 1931 they appeared on the photographic plates of the Shippey-Johnson expedition’s aerial surveys as “strange and mysterious marks”, but when discovered and surveyed by the Von Hagen expedition in 1953 and disused graves were found, the mystery increased. Inca engineers may have observed the same phenomena, but as was the case with the equally mysterious Nazca lines, they filled in those that interfered with the road and passed it over them.

Other visits were made in the early 1970s by archaeologists Dwight Wallace and Frederick Engel.^[1]

Archaeologist John Hislop wrote in his 1984 book Inca Road System that “circular structures, sometimes semi-subterranean, which may have been used for storage, are also found at Quebrada de la Vaca on the southern coast of Peru (Andes 1960:252, 253) and at Tambo Colorado. Hundreds of stone-lined circular holes have been found in rows on a low ridge on the north side of the Pisco Valley (Shippey 1933:93; Wallace; 1971:105-106).^[4]

In 2015, archaeologists from UCLA conducted a brief visit to the site, using photography from a drone aircraft to create a detailed map. He speculates that these holes may have been used to measure produce given as tribute to the Inca state; Measurements would have been recorded on Incan khipus and reported to government officials. Archaeologists hope to conduct further studies to locate pollen or phytoliths that may confirm this hypothesis.^[1][5]

In 2025, researchers published an article stating, based on existing evidence, that Monte Sierpe originally “functioned as a barter marketplace and was later used as an accounting device for tribute collection.”^[6][7]

• Engel, Frederick. 2010. Archeologia Inedita de la Costa PeruanaLima: Assemblía National de Rectors,
• Shippey, Robert. 1933. Aerial Adventure in Peru. National Geographic 63(1):81–120.
• Silva Santisteban, Fernando. 2005. The Lines of Nazca: another interpretationLima: la insigniaElectronic documents,
• Urton, Gary, and Alejandro Chu. in press. Incavasi Khipas: An Inca state storage facility and accounting center on the southern coast of Peru. Latin American Antiquity.
• Wallace, Dwight T. 1971. Sitios Arqueológicos del Peru (Segunda Entrega): Valles de Chincha y de Pisco. archaeologicus 13:4-131.

13°42′38″S 75°52′31″W13.710486°S 75.875160°W/ -13.710486; -75.875160(band of holes,