Peruvian solar observatory, Thai forest join UNESCO heritage list | Arts and Culture News

A 2,300-year-old solar observatory in Peru, a national park in Thailand near the border with Myanmar and an ancient Chinese trade centre that includes a historic mosque, are among the latest sites that have been added to the UNESCO list of the world’s most culturally significant places.

Peru’s Chankillo observatory, which was built before the rise of the Inca empire, was declared a World Heritage site on Tuesday, while Thailand’s vast Kaeng Krachan forest complex and China’s ancient port of Quanzhou were added on Sunday alongside several other cultural and natural sites around the world.

The Chankillo observatory allowed for remarkably accurate astronomical observations, according to recent studies.

The walled, hilltop ruins some 400 kilometres (250 miles) north of Lima had long puzzled scientists.

Then in 2007, a study in the journal Science proposed the sequence of towers…