Sun Temple

On Mesa Top Loop Road, Self-Guided, no fee required.

The uncompleted Sun Temple shines with a dedicated construction effort!

According to modern Pueblo Indians, Sun Temple's features classify it as a ceremonial structure. The symmetrically planned "D" shaped building was never completed, yet its size alone points to the amount of labor that went into its construction. Based upon the amount of fallen stone removed during excavation, the walls probably were between 11 and 14 feet high. Notice the excellent masonry. The stones were shaped and given a "dimpled" flat surface by the builders of the structure.

Work on the structure apparently stopped when the Ancestral Puebloan people began moving out of Mesa Verde around A.D. 1276. The purpose of the modern concrete on top of the walls is to prevent moisture from going into the rubble that has been placed between the walls.

At the southwest corner of Sun Temple there is an eroded stone next to the wall with three small indentations that may have served as a sun dial to mark the change of seasons. Although never completed Sun Temple reflects a great construction effort by the people who once lived at Mesa Verde.