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At the northern end of the Sacred Valley, Ollantaytambo is rare
if not unique in Peru. Ollantaytambo is a massive citadel located 50
kilometers from Machu Picchu. The citadel served as both a temple
and a fortress. At some time unknown, and for reasons unknown, work
mysteriously stopped on this huge project.
Inca terraces
(left) and megalithic wall (right) at pre-Inca site of
Ollantaytambo.
Mysterious
Pre-Inca megalithic stonework at Ollantaytambo
Stone Technology
The Sun Temple (above) that was constructed with huge
red porphyry (pink granite) boulders. The stone quarry is named
Kachiqhata (Salt Slope) and is located about 4 km (2.5 miles) away
on the other side of the valley, by the upper side of the opposite
south-western mountains. The boulders were carved partially in the
quarries, and taken down to the valley's bottom. In order to cross
the river Quechuas constructed an artificial channel parallel to the
natural river bed that served for deviating the river's water
according to conveniences. Therefore, while that water flowed
through one channel the other was dry, thus stones could be taken to
the other side of the valley. More over, the boulders were
transported to the upper spot where the temple is erected using the
inclined plane that is something like a road which silhouette is
clearly seen from the valley's bottom. They had the help of log
rollers or rolling stones as wheels, South-American cameloids'
leather ropes, levers, pulleys, and the power of hundreds and even
thousands of men. Today, on the way from the quarry to the temple
there are dozens of enormous stones that people know as " tired
stones" because it is believed that they could never be transported
to their destination; those stones are the reason why some authors
claim that the Sun Temple was unfinished when the Spanish invasion
happened.
Massive,
multi-sided blocks were precisely fitted together in
interlocking
patterns in order to withstand the disastrous
effects of earth quakes.
Scientists speculate that the masonry process might
have worked like this: after carving the desired shape out of the
first boulder and fitting it in place, the masons would somehow
suspend the second boulder on scaffolding next to the first one.
They would then have to trace out a pattern on the second boulder in
order to plan the appropriate jigsaw shape that would fit the two
together. In order to make a precise copy of the first boulder's
edges, the masons might have used a straight stick with a hanging
plum-bob to trace its edges and mark off exact points for carving on
the second boulder. After tracing out the pattern, they would sculpt
the stone into shape, pounding it with hand-sized stones to get the
general shape before using finger-size stones for precision sanding.
Admittedly, this entire technique is merely scientific speculation.
The method might have worked in practice but that doesn't mean this
is how the ancient Quechua stonemasons did it.
"How were such titanic blocks of stone brought
to the top of the mountain from the quarries many miles away? How
were they cut and fitted? How were they raised and put in place? Now
one knows, no one can even guess. There are archaeologists,
scientists, who would have us believe that the dense, hard andesite
rock was cut, surfaced and faced by means of stone or bronze tools.
Such an explanation is so utterly preposterous that it is not even
worthy of serious consideration. No one ever has found anywhere any
stone tool or implement that would cut or chip the andesite, and no
bronze ever made will make any impression upon it."
A. Hyatt & Ruth Verrill ----America's
Ancient Civilizations
Jean-Pierre Protzen thinks the Verrills was wrong. He went to
Cuzco and showed how river rocks could be used as hammers to pound
stones into the desired shape.
"It appears that the Inca technique of fitting the blocks
together was based largely on trial and error. It is a laborious
method, particularly if one considers the size of some of the huge
stones at Sacsahuaman or Ollantaytambo. What should be kept in mind,
however, is that time and labour power were probably of little
concern to the Incas, who did not have a European notion of time and
had plenty of tribute labour from conquered peoples at their
disposal."
Jean-Pierre Protzen ---Scientific American
---Feb. 1986
Was this
monolith carved with stone tools?
Eric Von Daniken, in his series of books beginning
with Chariots of the Gods theorized that the Andean stone-works were
build by Alien/Gods who visited the earth long ago, bringing
civilization to primitive man. The scientific community simply
snickered.
Whatever one thinks of his theories, he brought to the
public an awareness of the many ancient monuments on earth that seem
to defy rational explanation.
Everybody who has traveled to Egypt, Mesopotamia, South America
and many ancient places has seen it: the astonishing craftsmanship
of these ancient stoneworkers. The precision fit of large stone
blocks is eminent in both the Old and New World. It is hardly
imaginable, that all of this should have been done by pure manual
work alone. This very interesting link, Ancient Stone Technology, also includes
theories of Professor Davidovits from the Geopolymer Institute
in France.
In short, his theory is that the 2 million blocks of
limestone that make up the core of the pyramid of Chufu (Cheops),
have not been cut into shape, but the limestone was solved in water,
brought to the building place in small portions and then the blocks
were cast in situ. Even more interesting are his ideas on the
precision-fit Inca walls: He puts forward a technique to soften the
stone by use of acid plant extracts!
Another interesting website
is STONE TECHNOLOGY. The ancient Egyptians were
masters in working with stone. These pages document photographic
evidence, historical research and contemporary debates on stone
technology. Topics include predynastic stonewares, straight saws,
circular saws, tube drilling and lathes - Photos, Research Papers
and Newsgroup Debate Summaries.
Another similar in nature megalithic structure is Aramu Muru near
the Lake Titicaca.
Lake Titicaca, on the borders of Peru and Bolivia, is where Inca
legends say life on Earth was first created by Viracocha. In the
center of the lake is the Island of the Sun, with an ancient, sacred
temple. Nearby is Sillustani, where mysterious burial towers called
chulpas were once plated with gold and held the remains of Inca
royalty.
A few miles away is Aramu Muru’s Portal, a doorway-shaped niche
in a stone outcropping, located in a region known as the Valley of
the Spirits. The local villagers who walked with us refused to come
close to the portal. They tell stories about people disappearing
through the solid rock.
Mysterious
giant stone sculpture of Aramu Muru, north of Chucuito,
Peru
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Inca Architecture and Construction at
Ollantaytambo
by Jean-Pierre Protzen, Robert Batson
(Illustrator)
In this book, Protzen describes and interprets the
archaeological complex of Ollantaytambo, discovers temporal
and functional links among its components, uncovers the
planning and design criteria that governed its layout and
architecture, and compiles all that has been written about the
site.
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It is a modern-day mystery how the Inca, who did
not have iron tools or knowledge of the wheel, mined and
transported stones and dressed and fitted them in remarkable
structures. Jean-Pierre Protzen has spent much of the past
decade investigating the quarrying and stonecutting techniques
of the Inca, and problems of Inca construction practices. His
work is based principally on observation, careful measurements
of structures, and experiments using stones and tools the Inca
stonemasons would have used. Ollantaytambo, probably the
best-preserved Inca town, offers an ideal laboratory with its
well-thought-out site plans, its intimate integration of the
built form with the natural environment, the unity of its
architecture, and the sheer perfection of its cut-stone
masonry. Offering the only extensive analysis of Inca
construction practices, Protzen describes and interprets the
archaeological complex of Ollantaytambo, discovers temporal
and functional links among its components, uncovers the
planning and design criteria that governed its layout and
architecture, and compiles all that has been written about the
site.
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The Secret of the Incas - Myth, Astronomy, and
the War Against Time |
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Step by step, Sullivan pieces together the hidden
esoteric tradition of the Andes to uncover the tragic secret
of the Incas, a tribe who believed that, if events in the
heavens could influence those on earth, perhaps the reverse
could be true. Anyone who reads this book will never look at
the ruins of the Incas, or at the night sky, the same way
again. Illustrations. (Note: This text refers to an out of
print or unavailable edition of this title.)
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