'La ciudad perdida de los Incas'
The 'Lost City of the Incas' Machu Picchu, quechua meaning 'Old Peak'. The largest peak Huayna Picchu, means 'Young Peak', and is also known as the "hitching post of the sun." Forgotten for centuries by the outside world, although not by locals, it was rediscovered by a Yale Archaeologist Hiram Bingham in 1911.
Peru is pursuing legal efforts to retrieve thousands of artifacts that Bingham removed from the site.
The city was built by the Sapa Inca Pachacuti starting in 1440 and was inhabited until 1532. Archaeological evidence shows that Machu Picchu was not a conventional city, but a country retreat town for Inca nobility. The site comprises of 140 constructions and has a large palace and temples dedicated to Inca deities around a courtyard, with other buildings for support staff. It is estimated that a maximum of only about 750 people resided in Machu Picchu at any one time. All of the construction uses polished dry-stone walls of regular shape. The technique called ashlar, involves blocks of stone cut to fit together tightly without mortar. There are water fountains interconnected by channels and water-drainages perforated in the rock, designed for the original irrigation system. The system was used to carry water from a holy spring, to each of the houses in turn, the order being dictated by the percieved holiness of the inhabitants. It is suspected that this holy spring was at least a factor in the inca's decision to build the city in such a remote location and could hint at the city's true purpose.
posted by Lou @ 11:24 AM
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