Template:POTD/2008-10-26
El Caracol ("the snail", so nicknamed for the spiral staircase inside) at the Mayan archaeological site Chichen Itza in Yucatán, Mexico, is believed to have been an observatory with doors and windows aligned to view astronomical events sacred to the feathered-serpent god Kukulkan, specifically around the path of Venus as it traverses the sky.Photo credit: Eric Baetscher