Sacsayhuamán  

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"I myself measured one stone 38 feet long, 18 broad, and 6 thick; and in the walls of the fortress of Cusco there are stones much larger. [...] And what is most surprising, the stones of the rampart which I speak of, not having been cut according to rule, or in regular proportion, are very unequal both in size and shape, yet the joinings of these are incredibly adjusted without mortar."--Colossal Vestiges of the Older Nations (1862) by William Linton


The best-known zone of Saksaywaman includes its great plaza and its adjacent three massive terrace walls. The stones used in the construction of these terraces are among the largest used in any building in prehispanic America. They display a precision of fitting that is unmatched in the Americas. The stones are so closely spaced that a single piece of paper will not fit between many of the stones. This precision, combined with the rounded corners of the blocks, the variety of their interlocking shapes, and the way the walls lean inward, is thought to have helped the ruins survive devastating earthquakes in Cuzco. The longest of three walls is about 400 meters. They are about 6 meters tall. The estimated volume of stone is over 6,000 cubic meters. Estimates for the weight of the largest Andesite block vary from 128 tonnes to almost 200 tonnes.

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Saksaywaman is a citadel on the northern outskirts of the city of Cusco, Peru, the historic capital of the Inca Empire. Sections were first built by the Killke culture about 1100; they had occupied the area since 900. The complex was expanded and added to by the Inca from the 13th century; they built dry stone walls constructed of huge stones. The workers carefully cut the boulders to fit them together tightly without mortar. The site is at an altitude of 3701 m.

In 1983, Cusco and Saksaywaman together were added to the UNESCO World Heritage List for recognition and protection.

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Unless indicated otherwise, the text in this article is either based on Wikipedia article "Sacsayhuamán" or another language Wikipedia page thereof used under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License; or on research by Jahsonic and friends. See Art and Popular Culture's copyright notice.

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