1963 Nasca (Nazca) geoglyphs, Peru desert. The desert surface is covered by a layer of dark stones lying on top of fine yellow sediment left by an ancient alluvial deposit. The markings were made by simply moving the stones to one side as on a giant scraper board. In places the surface is so fragile that even footsteps show.

The Great Rectangle close to the Ingenio valley about 25kms from Nasca town is the largest single geoglyph on the desert pampa. It is almost a kilometre long and 107 metres at the widest point. At the southern end there is a large heap of stones and to the left of the rectangle is the giant Frigate bird, one of the most iconic designs at Nasca. On the bottom right of the picture, close to the edge of the rectangle, is the spider design. Other features include several small clearings, stone heaps, trapezoids, paths and straight lines making it one of the great centres of pre-historic activity. By 1963 there were a small number of vehicle tracks and substantial excavation by local treasure hunters. The white diagonal line is a road leading from the Panamerican highway to the Nasca valley in the distance near the top of the picture.

Camera: MPP Microflex Twin Lens Reflex with F3.5 77.5mm Taylor Taylor Hobson lens. Film Kodak Verichrome Pan at F5.6 - 1/300 second with a 3 x orange filter (Actina) to increase the contrast between the stones and the yellow sediment. Developed by hand in Lima using Kodak Microdol at normal dilution.

Negative Peru 63-45-10 © Tony Morrison