LAS PIEDRAS VIVAS DE SACSAYHUAMAN

In the Peruvian Andes at an altitude of 3 500 meters in a picturesque valley among the mountains Cusco is located In Cusco everything reminds you of the Incas the founders of the city e ancient walls made of carefully polished river stones the Quechua language used by the Incas centuries ago The seven-colored flag of Tawantinsuyu the flag of the Inca Empire that now waves in the wind in the central square of the ancient city In the style of the flag of the Republic of Peru According to the legend Cusco was founded by the eldest son and messenger of the sun god Manco Capac Who arrived at this place with his sister-in-law Ocleo to bring the laws of civilization to the people To help them free themselves from ignorance poverty and aggression It belongs to him the first commandment of the state Don't lie don't be lazy This commandment and approach enabled the creation of a highly organized society The Inca Empire which governed millions of people stretched for thousands of kilometers from Ecuador to Chile This lost civilization has left many mysteries unsolved The Incas did not have their own writing system and therefore did not leave written records so everything we know about them comes from the chronicles of the Spanish conquistadors from the memories passed down by the Inca descendants Those who lived here years after the end of the mentioned civilization and of the multiple interpretations by modern archaeologists and historians One of those mysteries is Inca architecture It is believed that most of the diverse Inca sites and structures were built in less than a century Even today these structures inspire awe and admiration among historians and architects as well as numerous tourists Among them are the sites of Ollantaytambo the terraces of Pisac the laboratory in Moray The famous flying city of Machu Picchu the temples and palaces of Cusco and many others However some scholars believe that the Incas did not build them all themselves But they simply took over the sites that were already built and used them for their own benefit On the high hill in the northern suburb of Cusco is the famous Sacsayhuaman Probably one of the most striking mysteries of architecture Thus did Garcilaso de la Vega write in his Royal Commentaries of the Incas in the 17th century It is impossible to imagine the scale of this effort until you see it After a thorough study and detailed examination of the stones used in the construction One cannot help but believe that witchcraft must have been involved in the construction process How remarkable is the impression they make Could it really be the demons that created it and not the people Sacsayhuaman consists of three layers of zigzag walls made of megaliths Large rocks that weigh dozens or even hundreds of tons Sacsayhuaman also includes many other buildings and structures that extend across a vast territory It is believed that the main construction work was carried out in the mid-15th century during the reign of Inca Pachacutec Unfortunately it is impossible to make a definitive statement about how the site looked in ancient times For the Spaniards who arrived here in the mid-16th century the destruction of Sacsayhuaman was a symbol of the kingdom's victory About God and paganism about European civilization and Indian barism The site was not only used as a source of building materials for the churches and private mansions of Cusco But it was also the target of intentional destruction Only the megalithic walls remained in place as the Spanish were unable to destroy them The precision and accuracy with which the stones in the walls fit together is fascinating and many people consider it unmatched Even today in the places where the mummification was removed It can be seen that it is impossible to insert a sheet of paper between the rounded edges Even more so it is impossible to even notice the joint The construction method of Sacsayhuaman was perplexing not only for medieval chroniclers The aforementioned Garcilaso de la Vega even wanted to notarize the size of the rocks So that people in medieval Spain would believe their stories about Sacsayhuaman not only for the modern architects and archaeologists either For this last one it remains mysterious how these stone blocks could have been transported and placed on such non-linear surfaces The Incas did not know wheels or draft animals And there is no evidence of cat levers or any other device that would facilitate working with such heavy weights When the Spanish arrived the Incas were no longer building anything Moreover the chronicles and legends regarding the construction methods mention only manual labor The magical help of the earth and the stone's desire to be transported The walls were made of limestone joined using a drywall method without cement In the destroyed sections of the walls the wall structure can be seen First here is the lining It was made using high-quality polygonal posterization Then the interior is filled with rows of pebbles and coarsely processed clay The builders did not follow a common procedure in which the installation of the heaviest megaliths would come first While filling the wall with smaller stones would come second It can be seen that the large megaliths which are the largest stones rest on a base that was prepared in advance For your information the weight of the largest cornerstone according to some estimates reaches around 200 tons Additionally to achieve the precision and accuracy of the joints found in Saqsaywaman multiple adjustments and many transports would be necessary Finally calculated the stone blocks Limestone is a solid material but very brittle often having a very uneven structure It can break and crumble with the least inclination It is still unclear how those builders could have worked with such large boulders of this weight placed vertically with only the help of primitive manual labor The adjacent surfaces of the blocks often have a three-dimensional relief This can beneficial and efficient for areas of high seismic activity which are not uncommon in this region Allow the pebbles to return to their natural fixed position The plaster model demonstrates how stable this mompostería is even without any adhesive Many blocks have corrugations and hollows Archaeologists believe these were lifting devices However many of these holes have the shape of bellows They are not at all suitable for using crutches Also on the back of the large boulders which are usually not processed there is generally no cavity In addition the Incas did not have wood that was suitable for making such tools The aromatic eucalyptus trees now abundant and lush on the slopes of the local mountains They appeared here only in the 14th century Another evidence that the ancient builders had methods unknown to us It comes from the positioning of granite blocks in the Temple of the Sun in Ollantiantambo 40 kilometers north of Cusco These blocks were transported from the other side of the canyon across the river They were lifted up by the narrow steep cliff Even the megaliths that were left behind on the way and show no signs of transport tools remain There is plenty of space on the cliff to place the structures and the number of people needed to handle this weight Another mystery is how the stone blocks were installed and adjusted together on a nearly steep cliff At the top of the hill surrounded by walls is one of the most amazing structures of the Saqsaywaman complex Now we are at the top of the mountain where a fortress stands We can see part of the building itself as well as the remains of the walls and the foundations In the descriptions by the chroniclers Cieza de León Sarmiento de Gamboa and Garcilaso de la Vega It is considered to be the base of the three towers Most likely this circle Mayuk Marka is part of the House of the Sun While the other two towers called Pau Kasmarka and Sayak Marka were located on either side According to Cieza de León what the Spaniards perceived as a fortress that is these towers on top of Saqsaywaman It was in fact a very large complex ritual dedicated to the sun The Temple of Lightning was also built represented by the lines radiating from the towers The other lesser gods resided in other buildings The Rainbow Temple the Temple of the Moon and the Stars which surrounded the House of the Sun The purpose of Saqsaywaman may have been that of a large unique complex where the Incas worshipped the sun It was also believed that this structure was the dwelling place of guardian gods celestial deities who lived in the material world In addition to this version Saqsaywaman is a ritual complex and there are many other hypotheses ranging from simple domestic ones For example a food storage building a water tower or a defensive fortress until the most exquisite theories such as Saqsaywaman which provides influence to the earth through telluric currents Saqsaywaman is a generator of subtle energies that dwell there and possess extraordinary powers Indeed the structure resembles more a technological installation than a place of worship The rigid geometric shapes the intricate water drainage system on the western side of the tower Indeed their purpose is somewhat unclear the megalithic walls that protect the hill from destruction The foundations are made of limestone the walls are made of a stronger material Andesite and its mostly rectangular stones are processed with high quality The andesite stone remnants can still be found in the area and are used for the restoration of the complex Sometimes andesite blocks are also found within the ruined walls but the archaeologists have no explanation for this Except for the assumption that for the internal filling of the wall the builders used remnants of previous buildings There are also two entrances to the underground caves which were sealed for safety reasons It was said that different people mainly those seeking adventures or the lost treasures of the Inca They often got lost or went mad in the tunnels That is why in the 1920s local authorities decided to seal the cave entrances The intriguing caves aroused the interest of researchers and therefore they decided to investigate them geologically since July 2012 Many tunnels and underground caves are not uncommon in Peru However in the area of Mayuc Marca tower which is believed to be the most likely location of the underground structures It seemed impossible to conduct the ground-penetrating radar survey due to interference from the towers located within direct visibility None of the underground buildings or their remains were found around the walls where rock fractures occurred causing the walls to deform However the remains of the underground structures were discovered in the area of Lake Cocha and Chincana Mountain One of them was interpreted by experts as a tomb Behind the hill which is actually just a bulge meaning when a muddy lava flows out during an eruption There is a large oval plaza called Cocha Historians believe it was an artificial reservoir However judging by its shape it more closely resembles a large arena Anyway the true purpose of the object remains unknown At the edge of Cocha are large rocks that seem haphazardly piled up No one can explain what mysterious force led them there Even there is a rock leaning against a polygonal wall This means that obviously some of the walls and cornices were built here before the large stones appeared Scientists do not rule out the possibility that what we see are the remains of a very ancient and large structure There is a similar site at a place called Kenco located two kilometers from the complex However the size of these stones perfectly processed and apparently randomly scattered is less impressive The issue of imported stones came up several times during the tour of the area There is a large rocky outcrop nearby known for the large number of holes in its surface It is said that this is exactly the rock that the Incas once tried to move many years ago It is actually called the Fatigued Stone and it killed thousands of Indians during its fall When the stone fell it sealed the entrance to a dungeon that was revered by the Incas Therefore the Inca cut a new window and steps into the mountain Its remains are still clearly visible It is difficult to say what transportation technologies the Incas used when moving rocks that weighed several thousand tons But the separate stones or rocks which originally were not from here are also found in the mud in the form of huacas A huaca that is a site that the Incas associated with a manifestation of superior power They often belong to stones and rocks with cuts on their surface Indigenous legends and Spanish chronicles often provide a detailed description of the interaction between indigenous people and natural forces through these huacas This is what Garcilaso de la Vega wrote in his chronicles She the huaca denotes a sacred object Anything could be such an object anything through which the devil could speak to a person Among the huacas were idols boulders huge stones or trees where the enemy of man entered so that people would believe it was the god himself The term huaca was also applied to any temple whether small or large tombs in the fields as well as to corners within houses where the devil spoke to priests and other people who communicated with him in a friendly manner Another indigenous chronicler Guamán Poma at the end of the 16th century wrote that through the huacas the Incas would come to know the locations of the silver mines gold mines and others This is what he wrote about some of the Inca kings Tupac Inca Yupanqui could speak with the huacas from whom he would learn about past and future events throughout the world Huayna Capac one of the last Inca rulers wanted to do the same but the huacas did not want to speak to him It was said that only the Pariacaca idol responded stating that there was little time left for discussions and for the Inca rule since those who bore the name Viracocha were about to arrive in this land And during the reign of Huayna Capac or shortly after to rule in the name of a single great idol that they would bring with them The huacas surround Cusco on all sides In this region there are many rock formations or large rocks scattered and densely covered with various holes made in a strongly eroded surface The cuts and holes come in a wide variety of forms ranging from the most primitive processed holes to those geometrically calibrated No systematic approach is visible in the staircase and rectangular cuts although some of them could be used as benches or steps for a more convenient ascent to the hill On the other hand there is definitely some similarity among all the huacas They usually contain a rock with cuts The huacas usually have the following structure multiple cuts and stairways mostly rectangular arranged in a rather chaotic manner one or a few well-processed walls with patterns The corrugations a cave that is finely cut and contains several compartments somewhat like a grotto A small plot of land or a processed stone in a different manner with images resembling snakes animals or meandering riverbeds Often these huacas are adjacent to or surrounded by smaller polygonal masonry structures of varying quality Next to him on a large rock covered with cuts across its entire surface is a picturesque winding stream It is very difficult to determine the function of such a tiny drainage The width of the stream is only a few centimeters During the georadar investigation of Saqsaywaman samples were collected to be examined in detail at Russian scientific research centers In the course of this examination it appeared that the blocks were mainly composed of fine crystalline limestone The ancient builders obviously used high-quality material Some of the blocks made a squeaking sound when struck On the other hand the largest stones often had several fractures and a rather non-homogeneous structure which is normal for natural formations It is most likely that the raw material for the walls was extracted directly from the structures since the limestone from the nearby cliff near the tower has the same structure as the limestone in the blocks The surface of the stones at Saqsaywaman clearly shows the marks of shaping and hammering These are the small holes with slight imperfections in them as a result of the hammering Most of the stones in Saqsaywaman are covered with these marks These impressions appear after hitting the limestone the main material of the walls with something harder We can see that the builders were using different tools to process the finer details The points on the blocks become smaller and denser near the edges of the stones Having conducted the experiments on processing a nearby natural stone we no longer had any doubts about the application of this type of processing There are commonly known legends about the Indians who made stones soft and pliable with the help of a liquid During the experimental processing of a nearby rock we tried applying vinegar Vinegar dissolves limestone but would be ineffective for all other formations After rinsing the surface with water it became clear that the effect was different from what was seen on the stone blocks throughout the area This method is also unsuitable for accurately fixing stones together Along with the hammering another processing method was used a bit more refined but we still don't know it Adjacent surfaces are usually abrasive allowing for a minimal gap in the joints just fractions of a millimeter However this does not explain how such precision could be achieved with large megaliths made of solid yet fragile material such as the local limestone where the surface of a block is almost an identical copy of the surface of an adjacent block Even the Spanish recognized the elegance of the shaped stone contours and the multitude of small details implemented with precision in blocks of all sizes When evaluating the accuracy of the joints it is worth noting the megaliths of Ollantaytambo Granite is a harder material than the limestone of Sacsayhuaman This raw material demonstrated the precise machining and joining Today we use quite sophisticated devices to achieve such results But the Incas did not have precise measuring devices They used only the most primitive construction methods and stone tools So far debates continue about how ancient builders could achieve such precision Today a hypothesis is often expressed about the softening of stone and the transformation of the block material into a more pliable state There are even more exotic hypotheses It was often observed that the structure of the wall's monopole resembled a living material In addition the Incas themselves believed the stones were alive Also there are many legends about buildings that arise out of nowhere in an unfathomable and mysterious way during a single night The builders used more than just the primitive hammering While the white spots are the marks of the hammering tool The other tracks which we also know well have no explanation The archaeologist Luis Guevara presented an entire collection of the various and mysterious traces of an unknown tool These clues are unique Their quantity is small compared to the total volume of processed stones However it is clear that most of these clues were destroyed over time This is what Luis Guevara says about such traces in the cave of one of the huacas in the Cusco suburb We are at the Chitacaca temple The chroniclers have little information about this huaca and to this day the site is under exploration We are trying to find out the purpose of this huaca During the solstice the sun illuminates the cave from the inside All this space all this wall has been processed The assumption is that it was prepared to later be covered in gold An unusual tool was used to achieve this result The elegance and precision with which the surfaces and steps are executed is amazing I am not sure if the Incas had any tool that could produce such results The horizontal surface facing the ground is so smooth that it suggests it was cut with some soft malleable material With a device similar to a knife as thin as just 2 or 3 millimeters A similar trail is found on a diorite rock in front of the megalithic walls of Saqsaywaman Here a large piece of rock was separated from the main mass by a cut several meters long And many similar tracks are available in Oyataytambo There is a famous platform on Inkamizana Mountain that has a perfectly smooth and polished wall and a grooved floor What did the builders use to achieve this smoothness Archaeologists offer no explanation The cuts were made using a tool that resembles a modern axe used for plastic materials With a blade width of approximately 2 millimeters cuts are made along the line But in a rather careless manner not worrying too much about the accuracy and similarity of the cells The tool sometimes crosses from one edge of the furrow to the other Nearby is another interesting site of processed land It is treated with the same method two cuts within each excavation The site represents four regular diamonds crossed by a gap surrounding the rocky platform However even more unusual traces are available In Sacsayhuaman on the western side of Lake Cocha there is an incredible stone Its processing style is significantly different from all other stones in the area Surface erosion is normal for limestone But at the same time if we look more closely we can see the signs of processing in this case Unless the builders were trying to imitate such treatment using only stone-cutting technologies These traces can be easily made with the fingers on soft clay Next to him is a figure that was definitely produced in a conventional way Along the entire perimeter of the stone there is a shelf where the cuts and shaping marks can be clearly observed The shelf transforms into a formation resembling a snake which archaeologists consider to be actually a representation of two snakes looking at each other Again the tool and method of such treatment are unknown However it is difficult to avoid the impression that these are consequences of working with a ductile material Especially because on the other side of the stone there are traces of knocking or hammering These traces can be clearly seen Obviously they were made later and are not related to the mentioned wavy surface and its production They can also see the signs of a kind of material blurring with the subsequent hammering of it It could be assumed that some of these marks appeared on the stone during the decoration of the stone with goldsmithing But it is still very difficult to understand what the purpose was for the builders to be so meticulous in imitating the treatment of ductile material A similar trail is available on the stone in the wall In Kenco there is a place where the limestone looks exactly like a frozen puddle However it is a matter of common knowledge that under normal conditions it is impossible to melt limestone When heated limestone loses its properties and turns into quicklime Even there is a more surprising discovery During the 2008 excavations carried out near the complex known as the Temple of the Moon An interesting artifact was discovered Its main value lies in the fact that the processing traces were not subjected to erosion It is hard to imagine a tool that could leave such marks This result cannot be achieved by engraving scraping or even hammering The only parallel that comes to mind is that they might be the marks of a hot spear applied to a malleable material In summary I would like to mention another discovery that is directly related to the treatment of stones In Chicán the mountain we mentioned earlier an image resembling a form of writing was discovered Initially this was seen as ordinary vandalism by tourists as it was done with white paint However having conducted a more thorough examination and especially after pouring water on this part of the rock It seemed that the writing was quite old and although done in a rather careless manner it resembled the equations written on the blackboard with chalk It was a surprise to find out that the white paint had nothing to do with the writing Since the writing was done using a method unknown to us similar to engraving The writing is actually represented by the pale crystalline formations incorporated into the structure of the stone Unfortunately it was impossible to obtain a scrape or samples of the writing as it would lead to partial destruction of the writing In the Mayuk Marka area the tower we mentioned the archaeologists pointed out a andesite stone block with an ornament Its structure and style resembled those of the crystalline writing in Shinkan Never before had anything like this been found which is why the writing has still not been deciphered Although it is evident that these writings have a direct relationship with the ancient builders However the Incas did not have a script To store the information they used kippa a measurement system based on the nodes and braiding of the cords At the same time we know nothing about how the Incas designed their buildings where they received their knowledge or how they passed it on We also understand little about their mindset and worldview We know very little about those considered sorcerers priests and the amauta mysteries The philosophers and scientists without whom the Inca rulers would not make any important decisions Then who were these ancient builders of Saqsaywaman What were the things they were able to do that go beyond any explanation of our modern civilized world The conquistador Don Mancio Serra de Leguizamo the last of those who were the first to conquer Peru He wrote the following about the Inca rulers We found these states in very good condition The Inca rulers governed so wisely that there were no thieves among this people Neither men of vice nor faithless wives nor immoral people Everyone had honest and useful professions They did not know crime nor executions Everyone had their own property and no one else would claim it What drives me to write about this now is my conscience as I feel guilty We have destroyed all this with our corrupt and mean example We have eliminated the nation that had such rulers and was so happy