SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD

							                                       HISTORY OF
                      SEVEN WONDERS OF THE WORLD




In order to revive the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World concept with a list of modern
wonders, a popularity poll to decide the New Seven Wonders of the World organized by the
Swiss-based, government- controlled New7Wonders Foundation. The winners were announced
on July 7, 2007 in Lisbon, Portugal, based on more than 100 million votes cast through the
Internet or by telephone.

The origin of the idea of seven wonders of the world dates back to Herodotus (484 BC - 425 BC)
and Callimachus (305 BC - 240 BC), who made lists which included the Great Pyramid of Giza,
Hanging Gardens of Babylon" Statue of Zeus at Olympia, Temple of Artemis at Ephesus,
Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus, Colossus of Rhodes and Lighthouse of Alexandria.
Only the Great Pyramid of Giza is still standing. The other six were destroyed by earthquake, fire,
or other causes.

To be included on the new list, the wonders had to be man-made, completed before 2000, and in
an acceptable state of preservation. Out of the 177 monuments which were up for consideration,
the list was narrowed down to 21 sites on January 1, 2006, by a panel of six of world leading
architects from five continents, such as Zaha Hadid, Cesar Pelli, Tadao Ando, Harry Seidler, Aziz
Tayob, Yung Ho Chang and its President, Prof. Federico Mayor, the former Director General of
UNESCO. The list was later reduced to 20 removing the Pyramids of Giza — the only remaining of
the 1 Ancient Wonders of the World — from the voting and designating it an Honorary
New7Wonders Candidate.

The project assigned what it called attributes to each finalist, such as perseverance for the Great
Wall of China, and passion for the Taj Mahal. The primary goal of the campaign was to foster and
encourage global exchange and intercultural appreciation. In addition, "Global Memory" was
created, meaning 7 things that everyone worldwide can remember and share. The New Seven
Wonders winners were Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico; Christ the Redeemer, Rio de Janeiro,
Brazil; Colosseum, Rome, Italy; Great Wall of China, China; Machu Picchu, Cuzco, Peru; Petra,
Jordan; and Taj Mahal, Agra, India.

The famous Mayan pyramids of Chichen-Itza are over 1500 years old. The name Chichen-Itza is a
Mayan word: CHI (mouth) CHEN (well) and ITZA (of the Itza tribe). Some believe people were
occasionally thrown into the nearby cenote as sacrifices, and those who survived were believed to
be seers. The site is divided into three sections. The North grouping of structures is distinctly
Toltec in style.

The central group appears to be from the early period. The southern group is known as "The Old
Chichen." The central pyramid, also known as El Castillo is the main attraction and it has 365
steps, one step for each day of the year. Just beyond El Castillo, there is a ball court which has a
mystery about the Mayan prophecy that on Dec. 22, 2012, the great warrior serpent Kukulkan will
rise from the ground beneath the playing field and end the world for good.

Christ the Redeemer, a statue of Jesus Christ in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, is considered the largest
art deco statue in the world. It stands 39.6 meters (130 ft) tall, including its 9.5 meters (31 ft)
pedestal, and 30 meters (98 fit) wide. It weighs 635 tons and is located at the peak of the 700
meters (2,300 ft) Corcovado Mountain in the Tijuca Forest National Park overlooking the city. A
symbol of Catholicism, the statue, made of reinforced concrete and soapstone, has become an
icon of Rio and Brazil. It is said that in 1921, a group called Catholic Circle of Rio organized a
Monument Week to attract donations and collect signatures to support the building of the statue.

The donations came mostly from Brazilian Catholics. The Statute of the Christ was designed by
local engineer Heitor da Silva Costa and sculpted by French sculptor Paul Landowski. At a cost of
$250,000, the construction of the monument took nine years and was opened on October 12,
1931. In 2008, when a violent electrical storm hit the statue, it was left unscathed because
soapstone, the material forming the outer layers of the statue, is an insulator.

The COLOSSEUM or Roman Coliseum, originally the Flavian Amphitheatre, is an elliptical
amphitheatre in the center of the city of Rome, Italy. It is the largest ever Colosseum built in the
Roman Empire and one of the greatest works of Roman architecture and Roman engineering. Its
construction started between 70 and 72 AD under the emperor Vespasian and was completed in
80 AD under Titus, with further modifications being made during Domitian's reign (81-96).
With a seating capacity of 50,000 spectators, the Colosseum was initially used for gladiatorial
contests and public spectacles such as mock sea battles, animal hunts, executions, re-enactments
of famous battles, and dramas based on Classical mythology. In the early medieval ear, the
building ceased to be used for entertainment but was later reused for such purposes as housing,
workshops, and quarters for a religious order, a fortress, a quarry, and a Christian shrine. Today,
the Colosseum, which stands partially ruined, is an iconic symbol of Imperial Rome and is one of
Rome's most popular tourist attractions.

The Great Wall of China is a series of stone and earthen fortifications in northern China, built,
rebuilt, and maintained between the 5th century BC and the 16th century to protect the northern
borders of the Chinese Empire during various successive dynasties. Since the 5th century BC,
several walls have been built that were referred to as the Great Wall. One of the most famous is
the wall built between 220-206 BC by the first Emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang. Little of that
wall remains today. The majority of the existing Wall was built during the Ming Dynasty.

THE GREAT WALL stretches from Shanhaiguan in the east to Lop Nur in the west, along an
arc that roughly delineates the southern edge of Inner Mongolia. The most comprehensive
archaeological survey, using advanced technologies, has recently concluded that the entire Great
Wall, with all of its branches, stretches for 8,851.8 km—6,259.6 km of sections of actual wall,
359.7 km of trenches and 2,232.5 km of natural defensive barriers such as hills and rivers.

MACHU PICCHU is a pre-Columbian Inca site located 2,430 meters (8,000 ft) above sea
level on a mountain ridge above the Urubamba Valley in Peru. Often referred to as "The Lost City
of the Incas", Machu Picchu is one of the most familiar symbols of the Inca Empire. The Incas
started building it around AD 1430 but it was abandoned as an official site for the Inca rulers a
hundred years later at the time of the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire.

Machu Picchu was built in the classical Inca style, with polished dry-stone walls. Its primary
buildings are the Intihuatana, the Temple of the Sun, and the Room of the Three Windows. It was
declared a Peruvian Historical Sanctuary in 1981 and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.
Since it was not plundered by the Spanish when they conquered the Incas, it is especially
important as a cultural site and is considered a sacred place.

PETRA is an archaeological site in the Arabah, Man Governorate, Jordan, lying on the slope
of Mount Hor in a basin among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Arabah (Wadi
Araba), the large valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. Renowned for its rock
cut architecture, Petra was constructed by Nabataea’s as their capital city around 100 BC. The site
was introduced to the Western world by Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt in 1812. In
1985, the UNESCO described it as "one of the most precious cultural properties of man's cultural
heritage and designated it as a World Heritage Site.

The Taj Mahal, also the Taj, is a mausoleum located in Agra, India, built by Mughal Emperor
Shah Jahan in memory of his favourite wife, Mumtaz Mahal. It is considered the finest example of
Mughal architecture, a style that combines elements from Persian, Indian, and Islamic
architectural styles. While the white domed marble mausoleum is its most familiar component,
the Taj Mahal is actually an integrated complex of structures. Its construction began around 1632
and was completed around 1653. Ustad Ahmad Lahauri is generally considered to be the principal
designer.

By the late 19th century, parts of the buildings had fallen badly into disrepair. British viceroy Lord
Curzon ordered a massive restoration project, which was completed in 1908. During this time the
garden was remodelled with British-style lawns that are still in place today. In 1983, the Taj
Mahal became a UNESCO World Heritage Site and was cited as "the jewel of Muslim art in India
and one of the universally admired masterpieces of the world's heritage."
                                                           TAJ MAHAL
The Taj Mahal of Agra is one of the Seven Wonders of the World, for reasons more than just
looking magnificent. It's the history of Taj Mahal that adds a soul to its magnificence: a soul that is
filled with love, loss, remorse, and love again. Because if it was not for love, the world would have
been robbed of a fine example upon which people base their relationships. An example of how
deeply a man loved his wife, that even after she remained but a memory, he made sure that this
memory would never fade away. This man was the Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, who was head-
over-heels in love with Mumtaz Mahal, his dear wife. She was a Muslim Persian princess (her
name Arjumand Banu Begum before marriage) and he was the son of the Mughal Emperor
Jehangir and grandson of Akbar the Great. It was at the age of 14 that he met Mumtaz and fell in
love     with    her. Five      years later in        the     year 1612,       they    got married.

Mumtaz Mahal, an inseparable companion of Shah Jahan, died in 1631, while giving birth to their
14th child. It was in the memory of his beloved wife that Shah Jahan built a magnificent
monument as a tribute to her, which we today know as the "Taj Mahal". The construction of Taj
Mahal started in the year 1631. Masons, stonecutters, inlayers, carvers, painters, calligraphers,
dome-builders and other artisans were requisitioned from the whole of the empire and also from
Central Asia and Iran, and it took approximately 22 years to build what we see today. An epitome
of love, it made use of the services of 22,000 laborers and 1,000 elephants. The monument was
built entirely out of white marble, which was brought in from all over India and central Asia. After
an expenditure of approximately 32 million rupees (approx US $68000), Taj Mahal was finally
completed                     in                 the                   year                   1653.

It was soon after the completion of Taj Mahal that Shah Jahan was deposed by his own son
Aurangzeb and was put under house arrest at nearby Agra Fort. Shah Jahan, himself also, lies
entombed in this mausoleum along with his wife. Moving further down the history, it was at the
end of the 19th century that British Viceroy Lord Curzon ordered a sweeping restoration project,
which was completed in 1908, as a measure to restore what was lost during the Indian rebellion
of 1857: Taj being blemished by British soldiers and government officials who also deprived the
monument of its immaculate beauty by chiseling out precious stones and lapis lazuli from its
walls. Also, the British style lawns that we see today adding on to the beauty of Taj were
remodeled around the same time. Despite prevailing controversies, past and present threats from
Indo-Pak war and environmental pollution, this epitome of love continuous to shine and attract
people from all over the world.
                   THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA
It was the most ambitious building project ever attempted in the history of mankind. And its
story has been almost impossible to tell – until now.
Based on astonishing new archaeological finds and extraordinary first-person accounts, Great
Wall of China tells the story of one of the greatest wonders the world has ever known. It’s
more than 3,000 miles in length and was built in just 20 years by a workforce of nearly two
million using technology and construction techniques that continue to inspire awe even today.

The story of its building, one of human drama, labor and loss, is told in this film through three
individuals, each one central to the tale. Thirteen-year-old Emperor Muzong, whose Kingdom is
pushed to the brink of destruction by invading Mongolian warriors, demands that a wall be built
that can never be breached again.
General Qi Jiguang, a military hero and engineering genius, is tasked with overseeing the
largest workforce ever assembled on earth. And Zhou Li, an ordinary soldier, is forced to work
in conditions of unimaginable hardship but ultimately finds sanctuary and peace in the shadow
of this great wall.

The history of the Great Wall is said to start from the Spring and Autumn Periods
when seven powerful states appeared at the same time. In order to defend
themselves, they all built walls and stationed troops on the borders. At that time, the
total length of the wall had already reached 3,107 miles, belonging to different
states.

In 221 BC, the Emperor Qin absorbed the other six states and set up the first unified
kingdom in Chinese history. In order to strengthen his newly born authority and
defend the Huns in the north, he ordered connecting the walls once built by the
other states as well as adding some sections of his own. Thus was formed the long
Qin's Great Wall which started from the east of today's Liaoning Province and ended
at                    Lintao,                    Gansu                     Province.

In the Western Han Dynasty, the Huns became more powerful. The Han court
started to build more walls on a larger scale in order to consolidate the frontier. In
the west, the wall along the Hexi corridor, Yumenguan Pass, and Yangguan Pass was
built. In the north, Yanmenguan Pass and Niangziguan Pass in Shanxi were set up.
Many more sections of the wall extended to Yinshan Mountain and half of the ancient
Silk          Road        was         along         the        Han's          wall.

The Northern Wei, Northern Qi and Northern Zhou Dynasties all built their own
sections but on a smaller scale than the walls in the Han Dynasty. The powerful Tang
Dynasty saw peace between the northern tribes and central China most of the time,
so few wall sections were built in this period.




                                 CHRIST THE REDEEMER
STATUE
Photograph by Samba Photo/Photonica/Getty Images

The 105-foot-tall (38-meter-tall) "Christ the Redeemer" statue in Rio de Janeiro,Brazil, was
among the "new seven wonders of the world" announced July 7 following a global poll to decide a
new list of human-made marvels.
The winners were voted for by Internet and phone, American Idol style. The other six new
wonders are the Colosseum in Rome, India's Taj Mahal, the Great Wall of China, Jordan's
ancient city of Petra, the Inca ruins of Machu Picchu in Peru, and the ancient Maya city of
Chichén Itzá in Mexico.
The contest was organized by the New7Wonders Foundation—the brainchild of Swiss filmmaker
and museum curator Bernard Weber—in order to "protect humankind's heritage across the
globe." The foundation says the poll attracted almost a hundred million votes.
Yet the competition has proved controversial, drawing criticism from the United Nations' cultural
organization UNESCO, which administers the World Heritage sites program (pictures of the
newest World Heritage sites).
"This initiative cannot, in any significant and sustainable manner, contribute to the preservation of
sites elected by [the] public," UNESCO said in a statement.
The Cristo Redentor (English: lit. Christ the Redeemer, Portuguese:Cristo Redentor, standard) is a statue of Jesus of
Nazareth in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; considered the largest Art Deco statue in the world and the 5th largest statue of
Jesus in the world. It is 30.1 metres (99 ft) tall, not including its 9.5 metres (31 ft) pedestal, and 30 metres (98 ft)
wide. It weighs 635 tonnes (625 long,700 short tons), and is located at the peak of the 700-metre
(2,300 ft) Corcovado mountain in the Tijuca ForestNational Park overlooking the city. A symbol of Brazilian
                                                                               [1]
Christianity, the statue has become an icon for Rio de Janeiro and Brazil. It is made of reinforced concrete
                                                                     [2][3][4]
and soapstone, and was constructed between 1922 and 1931.




A VIEW OF THE STATUE, AS SEEN FROM A PLANE AND MOA'S HELICOPTER.

The idea of erecting a large statue atop Corcovado was first suggested in the mid-1850s, when Catholic priest Pedro
Maria Boss requested financing from Princess Isabelto build a large religiousmonument. Princess Isabel did not think
much of the idea and it was dismissed in 1889, when Brazil became a republic with laws mandating theseparation of
                   [5]
church and state. The second proposal for a landmark statue on the mountain was made in 1921 by the Catholic
               [6]
Circle of Rio. The group organized an event called Semana do Monumento ("Monument Week") to attract
donations and collect signatures to support the building of the statue. The donations came mostly from Brazilian
           [2]
Catholics. The designs considered for the "Statue of the Christ" included a representation of the Christian cross, a
                                                                                 [7]
statue of Jesus with a globe in his hands, and a pedestal symbolizing the world. The statue of Christ the Redeemer
with open arms, a symbol of peace, was chosen.
A VIEW OF THE STATUE AT NIGHT.
Local engineer Heitor da Silva Costa designed the statue; it was sculpted byPolish-French sculptor Paul
             [8]
Landowski. A group of engineers and technicians studied Landowski's submissions and the decision was made to
build the structure out of reinforced concrete (designed by Albert Caquot) instead of steel, more suitable for
                           [5]
the cross-shaped statue. The outer layers aresoapstone, chosen for its enduring qualities and ease of
     [3]
use. Construction took nine years, from 1922 to 1931 and cost the equivalent of US$250,000($3,257,463 in 2013).
                                                    [3][4]
The monument was opened on October 12, 1931.               The statue was meant to be lit by a battery of floodlights
triggered remotely by shortwave radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi, stationed 5,700 miles (9,200 km) away in
         [6]                                                                         [5]
Rome, but poor weather affected the signal and it had to be lit by workers in Rio.

In October 2006, on the statue's 75th anniversary, Archbishop of Rio CardinalEusebio Oscar Scheid consecrated a
chapel (named after the patron saint of Brazil—Nossa Senhora Aparecida, or "Our Lady of the Apparition,") under
                                                                       [4]
the statue. This allows Catholics to hold baptisms and weddings there.




A CLOSE UP VIEW OF THE FACE.
The statue was struck by lightning during a violent electrical storm on Sunday, February 10, 2008 and suffered some
damage on the fingers, head and eyebrows. A restoration effort was put in place by the Rio de Janeiro state
government and archdiocese to replace some of the outer soapstone layers and repair the lightning rods installed on
            [9][10][11]
the statue.

On April 15, 2010 graffiti was sprayed on the statue's head and right arm. MayorEduardo Paes called the act "a
crime against the nation" and vowed to jail the vandals, even offering a reward of R$ 10,000 for any information that
                         [12][13]
might lead to an arrest.          The Military Police eventually identified house painter Paulo Souza dos Santos as the
suspect of the act of vandalism.

[edit]Restoration

In 1990, further restoration work was conducted through an agreement between the Archdiocese of Rio de Janeiro,
media company Rede Globo, oil company Shell do Brasil, environment regulator IBAMA, National Heritage
Secretariat SPHAN and the city government of Rio de Janeiro.

More work on the statue and its environs was conducted in 2003 and early 2010. In 2003, a set of escalators,
walkways, and elevators were installed to facilitate access to the platform surrounding the statue. The four-month
                    [14]                                                                         [citation needed]
restoration in 2010, carried out by mining company Vale in partnership with the Archdiocese,                       focused
on the statue itself. The statue's internal structure was renovated and its soapstone mosaic covering was restored by
removing a crust of fungi and other microorganisms and repairing small cracks. The lightning rods located in the
                                                                                                               [15]
statue’s head and arms were also repaired, and new lighting fixtures were installed at the foot of the statue.

The restoration involved one hundred people and used in excess of 60,000 pieces of stone taken from the same
                              [14]
quarry as the original statue. During the unveiling of the restored statue, it was illuminated with green and yellow
                                                                                           [14]
lighting in support of theBrazil national football team playing in the 2010 FIFA World Cup.

Maintenance work needs to be conducted periodically due to the strong winds and Erosion to which the statue is
         [16]
exposed.

PORTRAYAL IN MEDIA




A panoramic view of Christ the Redeemer at the top of Corcovado Mountain. In the background is Sugarloaf Mountain(centre)
and Guanabara Bay.

Christ the Redeemer is featured in various works of fiction and media.

   As early as the 1940s, Hollywood captured the structure's iconic appeal in such cinematic vehicles as the
    1942 Bette Davis film Now, Voyager and Alfred Hitchcock's 1946 film Notorious starring Ingrid Bergman.
   The statue was featured in a major destruction scene in the movie 2012, when its arms collapse, and the rest of
    the statue fails at the knees and crumbles as it collides with the side of the mountain, from a magnitude 8.5
    earthquake. This scene was highly controversial, especially when it was featured in a billboard campaign in Los
                                                                                     [citation needed]
    Angeles, when Brazilian multimedia designer Sara Vieira spoke out against it.
   It is featured in the following video games
   The statue watches over fictional "Verona Beach" in Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet.
   The MTV show Viva La Bam
   Mr. Magoo.
   The 2011 animated film Rio
   The live-action film Fast Five.
   The 2011 drama fantasy The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn – Part 1.
   In the science fiction anime Legend of the Galactic Heroes the planet Heinessen has a giant monument to its
    founder in which he is posed in the same position as Jesus in the Redeemer statue.
   Karl Pilkington visits the statue on his travels whilst filming 'An Idiot Abroad'.
Dynamo Magician Impossible preformed a trick in front of it for his TV show

[edit]See    also
   Monumento al Divino Salvador del Mundo, Monument to the Savior of the World San Salvador City, El Salvador
   Cristo Redentore, Christ the Redeemer of Maratea, Italy
   Christ of Vung Tau in Vietnam (32 m)
   Christ Blessing in Manado, North Sulawesi, Indonesia (30m)




                                                 COLOSSEUM
   Even after the decadent Roman emperor Nero took his own life in A.D. 68, his misrule and
    excesses fueled a series of civil wars. No fewer than four emperors took the throne in the
    tumultuous year after Nero's death; the fourth, Vespasian, would end up ruling for 10 years
    (A.D. 69-79). The Flavian emperors, as Vespasian and his sons Titus (79-81) and Domitian
    (81-96) were known, attempted to tone down the excesses of the Roman court, restore
    Senate authority and promote public welfare. Around 70-72, Vespasian returned to the
    Roman people the lush land near the center of the city, where Nero had built an enormous
    palace for himself after a great fire ripped through Rome in A.D. 64. On the site of that Golden
    Palace, he decreed, would be built a new amphitheater where the public could enjoy
    gladiatorial       combats           and        other     forms        of        entertainment.

    After nearly a decade of construction--a relatively quick time period for a project of such a
    grand scale--Titus officially dedicated the Colosseum in A.D. 80 with a festival including 100
    days of games. A well-loved ruler, Titus had earned his people's devotion with his handling of
    recovery efforts after the infamous eruption of Vesuvius in A.D. 79, which destroyed the towns
    of Herculaneum and Pompeii. The final stages of construction of the Colosseum were
    completed under the reign of Titus' brother and successor, Domitian.
   The Colosseum: A Grand Amphitheater
   Measuring some 620 by 513 feet (190 by 155 meters), the Colosseum was the largest
    amphitheater in the Roman world. Unlike many earlier amphitheaters, which had been dug
    into hillsides to provide adequate support, the Colosseum was a freestanding structure made
    of stone and concrete. The distinctive exterior had three stories of arched entrances--a total of
    around 80--supported by semi-circular columns. Each story contained columns of a different
    order (or style): At the bottom were columns of the relatively simple Doric order, followed by
    Ionic and topped by the ornate Corinthian order. Located just near the main entrance to the
    Colosseum was the Arch of Constantine, built in A.D. 315 in honor of Constantine I's victory
    over                   Maxentius                at                 Pons                Milvius.

    Inside, the Colosseum had seating for more than 50,000 spectators, who may have been
    arranged according to social ranking but were most likely packed into the space like sardines
    in a can (judging by evidence from the seating at other Roman amphitheaters). Awnings were
    unfurled from the top story in order to protect the audience from the hot Roman sun as they
    watched gladiatorial combats, hunts, wild animal fights and larger combats such as mock
    naval engagements (for which the arena was flooded with water) put on at great expense.
    The vast majority of the combatants who fought in front of Colosseum audiences in Ancient
    Rome were men (though there were some female gladiators). Gladiators were generally
    slaves, condemned criminals or prisoners of war.
   The Colosseum Over the Centuries
   The Colosseum saw some four centuries of active use, until the struggles of the Western
    Roman Empire and the gradual change in public tastes put an end to gladiatorial combats and
    other large public entertainments by the 6th century A.D. Even by that time, the arena had
    suffered damaged due to natural phenomena such as lightning and earthquakes. In the
    centuries to come, the Colosseum was abandoned completely, and used as a quarry for
    numerous building projects, including the cathedrals of St. Peter and St. John Lateran, the
    Palazzo Venezia and defense fortifications along the Tiber River. Beginning in the 18th
    century, however, various popes sought to conserve the arena as a sacred Christian site,
    though it is in fact uncertain whether early Christian martyrs met their fate in the Colosseum,
    as                          has                        been                          speculated.

    By the 20th century, a combination of weather, natural disasters, neglect and vandalism had
    destroyed nearly two-thirds of the original Colosseum, including all of the arena's marble
    seats and its decorative elements. Restoration efforts began in the 1990s, and have
    proceeded over the years, as the Colosseum continues to be a leading attraction for tourists
    from all over the world.

HISTORIA




The                                   Amphitheatrum                                  Flavium
a.k.a. Colosseum or Coliseum (though in olden times Romans referred to it as Amphitheatrum
Caesareum or            hunting      theatre),     was built      by        the        Flavian
emperors Vespasian, Titus and Domitianbetween 71-72 and 80 AD as a gift to the Roman
citizens in the place where the previous EmperorNero (37-68 AD) had his residence, the Domus
Aurea.         (Click here to     see       what     was       there       before       Nero).
The city needed an amphitheatre, as the only one with a (partially) stone structure, which had
been built by Statilius Taurus in 29 BC, was too small. The emperor Caligula (12-41 AD) had
started the works for a new amphitheatre, but Claudius (10-54 AD) stopped them when he came
to power. Nero, too, refused to use the old Statilius' building and preferred to have his own
amphitheatre built in the Campus Martis. It was a beautiful one, according to the historians, but it
was       destroyed,      probably     in      the      famous       fire      of     AD       64.

Nero's death in 68 AD marked the end of the Julio-Claudian dynasty; the Flavian family came to
power. The emperor Vespasian was acknowledged as emperor by the Senate in 69, and wanted
to make a political gesture to reconcile the Roman citizens with the new dynasty. So he gave
back to the Romans most of the land that Nero had occupied in the centre of the city, and had the
amphitheatre - a public facility - built in the place where once there was a huge artificial pond, in
the                  park                      of                Nero's                   residence.

It took about ten years to build the amphitheatre. Vespasian started the works in 72 AD and his
sonTitus (that's him smiling in the statue on the right) dedicated it in the year 80 with magnificent
games that lasted one hundred days. It is generally accepted that the building was completed by
the following emperor, Domitian, Titus' brother, who excavated the hypogea, the area under the
floor of the arena, where the shows were prepared that can now be visited.

In the amphitheatre, a Roman invention, were held shows that we would condemn today: the
most popular were the venationes (hunts) and the munera (gladiatorial games). The Roman
ruling class was obliged, by law and by the expectation of the people, to organize these shows to
gain the favour of the citizens. The organization of the games, which involved great expenses,
became a matter of public interest and was regulated by many laws.

The whole area around the amphitheatre was dedicated to the games; near the Colosseum
Domitian also built four ludi, the prisons where gladiators had their training. The bestiarii, who
fought against the beasts, trained in the Ludus Matutinus, so called because the show with the
animals was held in the morning. Then there was the Ludus Gallicus, the Ludus Dacicus and
the Ludus                                                                               Magnus.

The Colosseum remained in service for four and a half centuries; there is evidence of many
changes, additions and repairs. Many times was the amphitheatre destroyed by fire. Though the
main structure was made of stone, a quantity of wooden elements (in the undergrounds, the
arena itself, the masts of the velarium, the terraces and the roofs of the upper floor) fed the fire
which               in               turn             ruined               the               stone.

The first repairs were probably made during emperor Antoninus Pius (86-161), as proven by one
Corinthian capital of a column of that age found by the archaeologists, after a fire had destroyed
350                      houses                      in                 the                    city.
Major repairs, actually an almost complete rebuilding, were carried out after 217 AD, the year in
which the upper floor was struck by lightning and went on fire. The embers set alight the wooden
floor of the arena that in turn collapsed igniting the wooden structures beneath it and the rest of
the building. The seven companies of Vigiles (fire brigade) of the city were summoned, and also
the sailors of the Castra Misenatium, who normally manoeuvred the velarium, but to no avail. The
Colosseum became an enormous brazier that stopped burning only after the fuel was consumed.
Almost nothing was left of the Flavian building, and for five years the shows were held at the
circus.

It took more than thirty years to rebuild the Roman amphitheatre. Emperor Marcus Aurelius
Antoninus Augustus, also known as Heliogabalus or Elagabalus (203 – 222) started the works.
The building - still unfinished - was reopened and dedicated to the gods in 222 under Alexander
Severus, who ordered that the taxes paid by pimps, prostitutes and homosexuals would be
destined to the repair of public buildings, among which the amphitheatre.
Actually the repairs were completed only in 240 under Gordian III and a coin was minted for the
occasion. Gordian wanted to celebrate in Rome a lavish triumph for his victory in the war against
the Persians, and had collected 32 elephants, 10 elks, 10 tigers, 60 lions, 30 leopards, 10
hyenas, 1000 couples of gladiators from the imperial ludi, 6 hippos, 1 rhinoceros, 10 bears, 10
giraffes, 20 Asiatic wild asses, 40 wild horses and many other animals.

However, Gordian died in Persia in mysterious circumstances. Persian sources claim that at the
beginning of 244 Gordian fought in a battle near modern Fallujah (Iraq), which ended with a
major Roman defeat and his death. Roman sources on the contrary do not mention this battle
and suggest that Gordian died somewhere else, upstream of the Euphrates. Philip, who
succeeded Gordian as emperor, came to Rome and used all those animals. They were first
exhibited and then killed on occasion of the shows organised for the millennium of the city: April
21, 248.

The amphitheatre was again damaged - according to some sources - during the reign
of Decius(201–251) or of Trebonianus Gallus (206–253). Decius led many persecutions against
the Christians: among the victims were the bishop of Rome, Fabianus, and the future saints
Ireneus, Abundius and Policronius. Two Persian subregoli (vassals), Abdon and Sennen, were
executed in the arena and their bodies were left in the area between the Colosseum and the
Meta Sudans, in the spot where a small church was later dedicated to them in the V century; this
church          was        still       there         in        the         XV          century.

In 262, during the reign of Gallienus (218-268) a violent earthquake devastated the Eastern
Mediterranean; also Rome was affected, so much that the following year a plague epidemic
spread                           in                            the                          city.
In 312 the Senate dedicated to the emperor Constantine the triumphal arch that is still standing
near the Colosseum, and replaced the face of the Colossus with that of the new emperor.
The head of Constantine was found in the XVI century between the pedestal of the statue and
the     Meta     Sudans     and     it   is     now      in      the    Capitoline   Museums.
In 320 the amphitheatre was again struck by lightning, but it wasn't heavily damaged. From this
date onwards no more fires are reported, but there have been many earthquakes.
In 357 the emperor Constantius II (317-361) visited Rome and was very impressed by the
amphitheatre. The historian Ammianus Marcellinus that same year described it as in very good
conditions.

The last gladiatorial combat is recorded in 404, after emperor Theodosius established Christian
orthodoxy, banned paganism and started persecuting its followers. Pagan holidays were
abolished, the Temple of Vesta destroyed, the Vestal Virgins disbanded and auspices and
sacrifices were considered witchcraft and punished. So it was in this period that most ancient
Roman traditions and lifestyle ceased to exist. Also, from these years we have no further literary
information about the Colosseum, and the only sources are the texts of inscriptions on stone
slabs.

From 408 to 410 the city was besieged by Alaric (370 - 410), king of the Visigoths. In the end his
troops plundered the city for three days. During the Visigoth war the amphitheatre was
completely abandoned and its surroundings actually became a burial site, as the sieges
prevented the Romans from burying the dead outside the walls. After the war these cemeteries
were "reclaimed" by burying them under 2 metres of earth, and one of them was rediscovered
only                                            in                                          1895.
89 burial places, dating from Diocletian to Theodoric times (IV-VI century) have been found in the
valley of the Colosseum, mainly in the NE sector. 63 burial places have been found in and
around the amphitheatre, though only 56 have been mapped. These 56 are located in 3 places.
The 15 on the eastern side and the 18 on the northern side were outside the travertine
paving around the amphitheatre, which was still in use. The third group of 23 tombs (VI century)
were              found             inside             the            northern             portico.
So the obvious conclusion is that during the V century the area was abandoned, but the
amphitheatre was still in use; in the VI, when the amphitheatre was closed, it was used for
burials.

The trauma of the Visigoth sack induced about half the population to leave the city. At the end of
the IV century Rome still counted between half a million and one million inhabitants, but after the
shock of the invasion their number halved. The following sacks furtherly reduced the population
and at the end of the V century/beginning of the VI there were only about 100.000 Romans left in
the city. The Visigoth sack might have obstructed the drains of the amphitheatre, flooded
the hypogea and maybe also ruined part of the upper porch that had collapsed in the cavea, as it
was once again repaired between 417 and 423 by the Praefectus Urbi Iunius Valerius Bellicius,
probably with Praefectus UrbiRufius Cecina Felix Lampadius, who is mentioned in another
inscription.   How       do   we      know      all     this?    It   is   an      interesting story.
Between 425 and 450, probably after the 443 earthquake, Lampadius carried out more
restoration works on the arena, the podium and on the terraces at his own expense, as he had
inscribed on the marble. This particular inscription is also important because it had been carved
on a slab that had a former inscription made of bronze letters. These letters left holes in the
marble and these holes weredeciphered in 1995, and it was found that it had to do with the
Palestinian     war      and    the    plundering        of    the    Temple      of     Jerusalem.
After the 429 and 443 ones, another earthquake devastated Rome in 470, and in between, in
455, the city was again sacked, this time for fifteen days, by the Vandals of Genseric (a.k.a.
Gaiseric,                                         389–                                         477).
Another inscription commemorates the repairs carried out by patrician Messius Phoebus Severus
in 470, but the last restoration works mentioned are the ones paid in 484 or 508 by
the Praefectus UrbiDecius Marius Venantius Basilius after an earthquake. See the text or
the photo.
In any case these works weren't the last to be carried out in the amphitheatre: the arena floor was
again raised during the VI century, as stated by the fragments of an inscription found in the
amphitheatre which has disappeared but that at the time had been transcribed. This last
inscription commemorated the works made by Anastasius, a senator of the period following the
fall                  of                  the                    Western                     Empire.
The last venatio is recorded in 523. Gradually the taste of the public had changed, but the main
reason for the end of the games was the military and financial crisis in the western part of the
empire, together with the many invasions Italy had suffered. No one could bear the
colossalexpenses needed to organize the shows, and this made the function of the building
obsolete. Perhaps some venationes were held until the end of the VII century (Gentili), but in the
VI-IX       centuries       the       amphitheatre       was         completely      abandoned.
In medieval times houses and churches were built in the Colosseum,which was also used as
afortress/residence by               the             barons                of             Rome.
Read           about         it        in        the          next         history        page.: .




                                                                PETRA
 Petra (from the Latin word 'petrae', meaning 'rock') lies in a great rift valley east of Wadi
 'Araba in Jordan about 80 kilometers south of the Dead Sea. It came into prominence in
 the late first century BCE (BC) through the success of the spice trade. The city was the
 principal city of ancient Nabataea and was famous above all for two things: its trade and
 its hydraulic engineering systems. It was locally autonomous until the reign of Trajan,
 but it flourished under Roman rule. The town grew up around its Colonnaded Street in
 the first century CE (AD) and by the mid-first century had witnessed rapid urbanization.
 Following the flow of the Wadi Musa, the city-center was laid out on either sides of the
Colonnaded Street on an elongated plan between the theater in the east and the Qasr
al-Bint in the west. The quarries were probably opened in this period, and there followed
virtually continuous building through the first and second centuries CE.

According to tradition, in ca. 1200 BCE, the Petra area (but not
necessarily the site itself) was populated by Edomites and the area The Treasury
was known as Edom ("red"). Before the Israelite incursions, the
Edomites controlled the trade routes from Arabia in the south to
Damascus in the north. Little is known about the Edomites at Petra itself, but as a
people they were known for their wisdom, their writing, their textile industry, the
excellence and fineness of their ceramics, and their skilled metal working.

The next chapter of history belongs to the Persian period, and it is posited that during
this time the Nabataeans migrated into Edom, forcing the Edomites to move into
southern Palestine. But little is known about Petra proper until about 312 BC by which
time the Nabataeans, one of many Arab tribes, occupied it and made it the capital of
their kingdom. At this time, during the Hellenistic rule of the Seleucids, and later, the
Ptolemies, the whole area flourished with increased trade and the establishment of new
towns such as Philadelphia (Rabbath 'Ammon, modern Amman) and Gerasa (modern
Jerash). Infighting between the Seleucids and Ptolemies allowed the Nabataeans to
gain control over the caravan routes between Arabia and Syria. Although there were
struggles between the Jewish Maccabeans and the Seleucid overlords, Nabataean
trade continued.

                      With Nabataean rule, Petra became the center for a spice trade
                      that extended from Arabia to Aqaba and Petra, and onward either
                      to Gaza in the northwest, or to the north through Amman to
                      Bostra, Damascus, and finally on to Palmyra and the Syrian
                      Desert. Nabataean Classical monuments reflect the international
                      character of the Nabataean economy through their combination of
                      native tradition and the classical spirit.
 The Temple of
 Winged Lions         But among the most remarkable of all Nabataean achievements is
                      the hydraulic engineering systems they developed including water
conservation systems and the dams that were constructed to divert the rush of swollen
winter waters that create flash floods.

In 64-63 BCE, the Nabataeans were conquered by the Roman general, Pompey, whose
policy was to restore the cities taken by the Jews. However, he retained an independent
Nabataea, although the area was taxed by the Romans and served as a buffer territory
against the desert tribes. Completely subsumed by the Romans under the Emperor
Trajan in 106 CE, Petra and Nabataea then became part of the Roman province known
as Arabia Petraea with its capital at Petra. In 131 CE Hadrian, the Roman emperor,
visited the site and named it after himself, Hadriane Petra. The city continued to flourish
during the Roman period, with a Triumphal Arch spanning the Siq, and tomb structures
either carved out of the living rock or built free-standing. Under Roman rule, Roman
Classical monuments abounded — many with Nabataean overtones.
By 313 CE (AD), Christianity had become a state-recognized
religion. In 330 CE, the Emperor Constantine established the
Eastern Roman Empire with its capital at Constantinople.
Although the 363 earthquake destroyed half of the city, it appears
that Petra retained its urban vitality into late antiquity, when it was
the seat of a Byzantine bishopric. The newly excavated Petra
church with its papyrus scrolls document this period, especially in
                                                                        The Colonnaded
the sixth century, a phenomenon less well-attested in other sites
so far south of 'Amman. In this period there is also striking Street
archaeological and documentary evidence for accommodation
between Christians and the pagan aristocracy. Thereafter one can read the archaeology
of a fragmented middle Byzantine community living among and re-using the abandoned
limestone and sandstone elements of its classical past. The inhabitants during the
Byzantine Period recycled many standing structures and rock-cut monuments, while
also constructing their own buildings, including churches — such as the recently
excavated Petra Church with the extraordinary mosaics. Among the rock-cut
monuments they reused is the great tomb or the Ad-Dayr (known also as 'The
Monastery'), which was modified into a church. With a change in trade routes, Petra's
commercial decline was inevitable. An even more devastating earthquake had a severe
impact on the city in 551 CE, and all but brought the city to ruin. With the rise of Islam,
Petra became a backwater community. Petra was revealed to the western world in 1812
for the first time since the Crusades when it was re-discovered by the Swiss explorer
Johann Ludwig Burckhardt.

Past Excavations
As one of the most spectacular sites in the Middle East, Petra has long attracted
travelers and explorers. During the 19th century, the site was visited and documented
by several Europeans, after J. L. Burckhardt’s initial visit. A synthesis of the site was
published by Libbey and Hoskins in 1905, presenting one of the first overviews in print.
Archaeological excavations began in earnest at the turn of the century, with the earliest
scientific expedition being published in Arabia Petraea in 1907, by A. Musil. In the
1920's R. E. Brünnow and A. von Domaszewski surveyed the site and published an
ambitious mapping project in their Die Provincia Arabia. This survey has since
undergone many necessary revisions, the most recent of which was published by Judith
McKenzie in 1990.
Modern excavations continue to increase our understanding of the An              early
site and correct the work of earlier scholars. In 1958, P. J. Parr and
C. M. Bennett of the British School of Archaeology began an photograph of
excavation of the city center which remains the most informative and the Treasury
scientific to date. Recently, the Petra/Jerash Project, undertaken by
the Jordanian Department of Antiquities, the University of Jordan, the
University of Utah, and Swiss archaeologists, have excavated a number of monuments
at these two sites. Architectural remains now visible at Petra indicate a thriving city,
however, despite almost 100 years of excavation, only one-percent of the city been
investigated.

The Great Temple was first explored by Brünnow and von Domaszewski, but it was
Bachmann, in his revision of the Petra city plan, who postulated the existence of a
“Great Temple,” aligned with the Colonnade Street, lying on the hillside to the south. He
speculated that the temple was approached through a monumental Propylaeum with a
grand staircase leading into a colonnaded, terraced Lower Temenos, or sacred precinct.
Another broad monumental stairway led to a second, Upper Temenos. At its center was
the temple, with yet another flight of stairs leading into the temple proper. While no
standing structures were revealed before these excavations, the site is littered with
architectural fragments, including column drums, probably toppled by one of the
earthquakes which rocked the site. Given the promise of the Great Temple precinct and
its importance in understanding Petra’s architectural and intercultural history, it is
remarkable that it remained unexcavated until 1993 when the Brown University
investigations began.
                                          MACHU PICCHU
Nowadays it is a Historic National Sanctuary, protected by the Peruvian Government by
means of Law Nº 001.81.AA of 1981, that tries to conserve the geological formations and
archaeological remains inside the Sanctuary, besides protecting its flora, fauna and
landscape's beauty. The whole park has an extension of 32,592 Has.; that is 80,535
acres(325.92 km²; 125.83 mile²). Machupicchu (the Inkan City) is located on kilometer 112
(70 miles) of the Qosqo-Quillabamba railway; the train station is known as "Puente Ruinas"
and lies at an altitude of 2000 mts (6560 ft.). From that station there are buses in order to get
to South-America's most famous Archaeological Group that is found at an average altitude
of 2450 mts (8038 ft.), and at 13°09'23'' of South Latitude and 72°32'34'' of West Longitude.
The climate in that sector has also some characteristics that are found all over the region;
thus, only two well defined seasons are distinguished: the rainy season between September
to April, and the dry season from May to August. Nevertheless, Machupicchu is found by the
commencement of the Cusquenian Amazonian Jungle, so the chance of having rains or
showers is latent by any time of the year. In the hottest days it is possible to get even about
26° Celsius (78.8° Fahrenheit), while that in the coldest early mornings in June and July the
temperature may drop to -2° C. (28.4° F); the average annual temperature is 16 degrees
Celsius. Annually, there is an average of rains from 1571 mm. (61 in.) to 2381 millimeters (93
in.). It is obvious that the monthly relative humidity is in direct relationship to rains, so the
humidity average is from 77% during the dry months to 91% in the rainy months.
The Machupicchu Historic National Sanctuary is found over a great granite orogenic structure
baptized by Dr. Isaiah Bowman as the " Vilcapampa Batholith" that outcrops over about 400
km² (154 mile²). Its formation belongs in the scale of geological time to the Paleozoic or
Inferior Primary and may have an approximate age of 250 million years. The Vilcapampa
Batholith's white-gray granite is an intrusive igneous rock (magma cooled off in great
profundities inside the earth); it is mainly compound in average by 60% of feldspar, 30% of
quartz, and a 10% of mica. That granite has interlaced equigranular texture and possesses
from 6° to 7° of hardness in the MOHS scale with a resistance of 1200 Kg/cm². Likewise, in
this region there are some other rocks corresponding to the Inferior Paleozoic; such as schist,
quartzite and metamorphic conglomerations that might have an age from 350 to 450 million
years.
Machupicchu (like most of the Quechua names of towns and different sites in the region) is a
compound word that comes from machu = old or ancient, and picchu = peak or mountain;
therefore, Machupicchu is translated as "Old Mountain". The famous mountain that is seen in
front, and appears in most of the classical views of the site is named Waynapicchu (Young
Mountain). Unfortunately the original names of the mentioned sectors are lost, Machupicchu,
Waynapicchu and some other proper names used today are contemporary ones; ascribed
probably by farmers living in the region before Bingham's arrival. However, according to
studies about some XVI century documents, the original name of the whole area might be
"Picchu".
It is known that Hiram Bingham, a descendant of missionaries, was the man who found
Machupicchu for the contemporary world and modern science. He was a North-American
historian born in Honolulu, Hawaii; who in 1907 taught the South-American History and
Geography course in Yale University. Later he was chosen as delegate of his country to the
First Pan-American Scientific Congress carried out in Chile in 1908. By that epoch he began
his activities as explorer taking a horseback journey from Caracas to Bogota, following the
Simon Bolivar's way. Then he followed the old colonial trade way from Buenos Aires to Lima,
arriving to this Andean zone in 1909; it is in that year when from Abancay he started with his
first exploration towards Choquekirau, trying to find the last Inkan Capital. By that time many
myths had been created about the possibility of finding the "Inkas' treasures" that according to
tradition had been taken by Manko Inka is his retreat to Willkapanpa (willka = sacred, panpa =
plain; its Spanish form is "Vilcabamba"); thus it was so common by that epoch to find treasure
hunters willing to get to this last Inkas' dwelling. That same intention moved Bingham to study
chronicles and even to visit Spanish archives, and subsequently in 1911 to come back to Peru
with the aim of performing studies of geology and botany, and for sure, also in order to try
finding Willkapanpa.
In Qosqo, Albert Giesecke, a compatriot of his and rector of the local University had put him in
touch with Braulio Polo y la Borda, owner of Mandor. That local landlord told Bingham that on
the hill in front of his property there were ancient constructions covered by vegetation where
cattle were frequently lost; and moreover, he introduced Bingham to Eduardo Lizarraga, a
farmland renter living in the area since the 70s of the 19th century, who had seen the
buildings. On July 23, 1911 Bingham showed up in Mandor along with a policeman, Sergeant
Carrasco, who escorted him by order of Qosqo's Prefect Juan Jose Nuñez. They found in his
hut the peasant Melchor Arteaga who told Bingham about the existence of two Inkan sites
named Machupicchu and Waynapicchu; that same peasant was hired by Bingham to be the
guide in order to get to the Inkan City. The next day, after examining the field they decided to
climb up by the sector where nowadays is the zigzagging road. After noon they arrived at
another hut where they found Anacleto Alvarez and Toribio Recharte; they were two humble
peasants who along with their families lived in the area and cultivated the pre-Hispanic
farming terraces. After a short break, they provided a boy as the guide for Bingham in order to
have a first look of the Inkan buildings that were completely covered with entangled
vegetation. That was how Bingham, at 35 years old, stumbled onto Machupicchu; a fortuitous
happening that made manifest a great "discovery". Later he continued with his trip arriving
even as far as Rosaspata, Ñust'a Hisp'ana, Pampaconas and Espiritu Pampa; places that
apparently did not attract the explorer so much.
Almost immediately after his first exploration, he went back to the USA looking for economic
support that was granted to him by the Yale University and the National Geographic Society.
Subsequently, the Peruvian government in Lima facing Bingham's request in order to execute
works in Machupicchu, by means of law given on October 31, 1912, authorized him to carry
out his projected works. Besides, according to the fourth article of that authorization Bingham
could freely take out of the country all the obtained pieces during his explorations, but with
commitment of giving them back to Peru's simple petition. Authorization in the name of
"international etiquette" that infringed some legal rules and caused irreparable damage to
Peru's cultural heritage.
According to our history, in 1536 Manko Inka or Manko II began the war against the Spanish
invaders, carrying out the famous siege of the city in which Manko was on the point of getting
his final victory. But, after 8 months of bloody war he was defeated by the Spaniards and their
allied tribes (old enemies of the Inkas). The retreat was unavoidable and Manko dissolved the
gross of his army so that soldiers could take care of their families and devote their time to
agriculture. Manko Inka beat a retreat towards Vilcabamba (Willkapanpa) following the
Chinchero way and passing through Ollantaytambo where he won a victorious battle over the
Spaniards; and finally he went deeply into the jungle, establishing thus his new operations
center. The bloody war between Inkas and Spaniards continued. Manko was murdered in
1545 by some Diego de Almagro (a partner of Pizarro and the conquest) followers that were
fugitives to whom the Inka had heathenly welcomed after their defeat and sentence to death
for having assassinated Francisco Pizarro in Lima and for having rebelled against the
established colonial order. Manko was succeeded by his son Sayri Tupaq who was
persuaded by some of his relatives from Qosqo (faithful to the Spanish crown) to agree upon
with the vice royal authority. He traveled to Lima and had a meeting with the Viceroy that
conceded him some privileges and the Oropesa Marquisate that comprised lands in the
present-day districts of Yucay, Urubamba, Maras and Chinchero. Apparently satisfied, he
constructed his adobe palace in Yucay but died in 1560, perhaps poisoned by Quechuas
opposing the agreement with the invaders. After Sayri Tupaq's death, his brother Titu Kusi
Yupanki assumed the power. The new Inka dwelling in Vilcabamba also admitted political and
religious committees from Qosqo and Lima in order to get an agreement with the Viceroy. In
1568 he was baptized in the Christian way and named Diego de Castro; by that time he died
because of a sickness being then succeeded by his step brother Tupaq Amaru. Tupaq Amaru
was too young and inexperienced and was advised by a group of veterans that saw in the
conquerors their relentless enemy and continued their war. The viceroy ordered the Inka's
capture sending an army of almost 300 soldiers, led by Martin Hurtado de Arbieto and captain
Martin Garcia Oñaz de Loyola; they arrived to Vilcabamba giving different battles but the Inka
and his family had quit even farther inside the forest. But finally the last Quechua Monarch
was captured and taken to Qosqo along with his followers by the same Garcia Oñaz de
Loyola (who later married Beatriz Coya, Tupaq Amaru's niece and heiress of the Oropesa
Marquisate). After a quick judgment he was sentenced to death and subsequently decapitated
in the great city's plaza before the cold glance of Viceroy Toledo on September 24, 1572. His
remains were kept in the Santo Domingo Church; thus the last man of the Inkan dynasty was
murdered, after 36 years of war willing to recover their Quechua nation.
In 1911, Hiram Bingham believed that he had found Manko Inka's Vilcabamba in
Machupicchu; that is demonstrated wrong today because the exact location of that city and
some other sites stated in chronicles are already known. On the other hand, today it is
frequently asked how 150 or 180 Spaniards, the first ones who arrived here, could conquer so
easily the Inkan Civilization that had from 12 to 16 million people; what is true, is that it was
not a consequence of their physical power neither of their privileged wisdom, but simply
because when the invaders arrived here there was a bloody civil war. Qosqo was always
Tawantinsuyo's capital, its legitimate monarch was Thupa Kusi Wallpaq, whom history knows
as Waskar Inka who had a step brother named Atawallpa that wanted to usurp power moving
himself to Tumipanpa in present day Cuenca, Ecuador, where he crowned himself as the new
Inka. Atawallpa was willing to overthrow his step brother, who after some battles was seized
in October, 1532; subsequently, the Spaniards arrived to the Peruvian coasts and in
November entered into the city of Cajamarca. Spaniards seized Atawallpa who from his
imprisonment ordered to murder Waskar and all the Cusquenian "orejones" ("big eared
people" = the Inkan nobility). As soon as they were told about the happenings, the Spaniards
blamed and sued Atawallpa and imposed the death sentence upon him. After having
murdered Atawallpa, they went towards Qosqo, where they were welcomed believing that
they were avengers of the Inkan Capital because they had murdered its enemy. Moreover,
they were considered as gods because they were so different, had white skin, beard, fire
weapons, horses; and even, Quechuas believed that horse and Spaniard were a single being,
able to split into two. Besides, it was also believed that they were divinities because there was
an old myth that stated that the Inkas' gods had to arrive by ship, exactly how Spaniards did.
Because of all those reasons they were accepted and welcomed in the Quechuas' Capital. Its
inhabitants made them know everything they had, their palaces, temples, towns and cities;
but, by that time no one said anything about Machupicchu because it seems that it was a very
special and secret city or otherwise it was already lost and forgotten. The archaeological
evidences state a total Spanish absence, there are no influences in pottery or architecture,
and the "idolatry extirpators" (Catholic priests) did not destroy its temples as it happened in
every spot known by Spaniards; thus it is supposed that Spaniards did not arrive and perhaps
did not know anything about Machupicchu.
Because of its location strategically established for its protection, because of its number of
temples and their architectonic quality, because of the small amount of "kanchas" (apartments
for extended families), and because of the several characteristics that Machupicchu presents:
originally, it was a regional power center dependent from Qosqo. That is, it was a small
religious and political capital. Surely, it served as a dwelling for the Inka or any high ranked
dignitary from the Capital, as well as for a selected nobility that had the privilege of having an
"Aqllawasi" that was something like a monastery for "Chosen Women" or "Virgins of the Sun"
devoted to cult and for service of its privileged population too. Most modern archaeologists
and historians state that Machupicchu was made built and used by Inka Pachakuteq, who
was the Tawantinsuyo's greatest statesman and ruled from 1438 to 1471, as his "Royal
Farmstead". Scholars use for this assertion the chronological dating given by the carbon 14 or
radiocarbon, its doubtless "Imperial Inka" architectonic style, the predominant ceramic pieces,
and some other scientifically valid facts. Even more, the archaeological evidences discard
totally any possibility of pre-Inkan settlements in this region.
According to the buildings that are found in the Inkan City, the population during its apogee is
calculated to have been about 1000 people. According to the mummies found by the Bingham
expedition about 80% of the Machupicchu population were women; that is the strong support
to assert that over here existed an important "Aqllawasi" (House of Chosen Women), chosen
among the prettiest and most virtuous, they were considered as the Sun's wives. Many
modern scholars suggest that a large part of them were the Inka's wives too, considering that
he was the son of the Sun; therefore, a living god. Thus the Inka lived in his property, along
with his wives. It was normal for the Inka to have hundreds of concubines, and for example,
our history states that Wayna Qhapaq who was father of Waskar and Atawallpa had more
than 400 children. Nevertheless, his main wife must have been a sister of his; only that way
they could keep the "solar blood" that they supposedly had. The throne heir had to be a son of
the Inka and his sister.
Today, the reasons that led to depopulation of the Inkan City are unknown; although, some
hypothetical reasons that are in a logical frame are outlined. It is believed that once there was
a very bad epidemic that led to the abandonment of the city built in a humid zone with an
abundance of different insects. Even until the first decades of this century different epidemics
were reported frequently in this area, especially malaria; today several chemical products are
being used in order to fumigate the environment, so the sanitation conditions were modified.
Another possibility suggests that it had to be abandoned and closed after the death of the
sovereign who built and used the city. Another hypothetical reason indicates that once the
Antis (name of the "Andes" mountains comes from "Antis" = jungle tribes living in the
Amazonian Forest), the worst enemies of the Inkas, arrived to this spot where they carried out
a huge slaughter; the city was abandoned afterwards. What is evident is that the Inkan City
was closed, abandoned and forgotten even until the first years of the XXth century.
Today, in a simple way Machupicchu is divided in two main sectors: farming and urban. The
Farming Sector is located just after entering from the tourist hotel; over here there are very
broad artificial farming terraces; they are only some of all the ones existing in the region, as
most of them are covered by thick vegetation. By the eastern end of the terraces there are
five buildings that maybe served to house the farmers who cultivated this sector; those
buildings are known as the " Farmers' Group" though Bingham called them "Outer Barracks".
On the upper end of those terraces there is a small room having just 3 walls known as the "
Watchman Post" constructed in a strategic place; from this point there is a broad view of the
Urubamba canyon in two different directions. It is here, from where the Machupicchu classical
pictures are taken. In the vicinity is the named "Funerary Rock" ; it is a loose boulder placed
knowingly in that spot, carved as an altar with some steps and a ring. It is supposed to have
served in order to carry out all the embalming process as well as for drying the mummies up.
Nevertheless, it seems that this rock had also a certain relationship with solar observations. In
the winter solstice, the sunlight is projected exactly towards this rock from "Intipunku" (Sun
Gate) which is compounded by the buildings towards the east, on the pass, by the end of the
Inka trail that is seen surrounding the Machupicchu Mountain. Further south from the
"Funerary Rock" is the largest building in Machupicchu; it is a "Kallanka" that has 8 access
openings on its front wall and 2 on the side ones. Because of its location near the trails, its
dimensions and morphology, that building must have been a sort of " Tambo" and served as
lodge for a large number of persons. Some authors name this building as "Headquarters" and
some others as "Workshops".
Passing from the farming sector to the urban one there is a great " Dry Moat" that served to
protect it. Machupicchu was a very exclusive city and its population selected among the
nobility, therefore, it had a very effective security and protective system. Crossing the Dry
Moat is the Urban Sector; even farther is the "Fountains Street" containing 16 Liturgical
Fountains. In the Inkan Society the water was always considered as a special deity, therefore,
there were normally fountains and reservoirs for its cult. The main fountain is located in front
of a building having just three walls that in the Inkan Architecture is named "Wayrana" that is
supposed to be a ceremonial center from where the "Willaq Uma" (High Priest) had to carry
out diverse ceremonies in order to worship the water. Today, water does not flow through the
channels any more simply because the tourist hotel is using it; originally the water was
harnessed from a spring located behind the Machupicchu mountain; the channel came aside
and along the Inka trail going towards Intipunku.
Nearby, is the "Sun Temple" that was a complex originally very well protected. In Inkan times
only the priests and the Inka could use those temples; thus, they remained closed and
protected. Common people had popular ceremonies in open areas or plazas like the one in
Machupicchu or Qosqo. The entrance into the Sun Temple is through a magnificent double
jamb doorway, that on its interior surface shows its security system with a stone ring over the
lintel where the wooden door must have been hung, and the two stakes inside small carved
boxes in the interior jambs where the door's crossing bar was tied. The temple itself was built
over a huge "in-situ" boulder. It has a semicircular floor plan; its rear wall is straight and the
whole temple is built with the "Imperial Inkan" architectonic type, that is, with rectangular faced
stones with perfect joints. The semicircular wall has two windows; one of them faces towards
the east and the other towards the north. According to modern scientists those two windows
constitute the most important solar observatory in Machupicchu; in the window facing east it is
possible to fix accurately the winter solstice measuring the shade projections on the central
rock. Both windows have projecting carved fake beams surrounding their outside face; they
surely served in order to support elements that made solar observations easier. In the center
of the temple there is an "in-situ" carved rock altar that served to carry out diverse ceremonies
honoring the Sun; it is over here where animal sacrifices were executed, so that analyzing
their hearts, lungs and viscera, the priests could foretell the future. It is also here where the
Inka had to symbolically drink "chicha" (maize beer) along with his father the Sun. The straight
rear wall has a window with small carved holes on its threshold that tradition knows as the
"Snake Window" (name given by Bingham). The holes are very similar to those found in the
Temple of the Stars in Qosqo's Qorikancha that according to Garcilaso kept ornaments of
precious metals and stones; possibly also over here those holes had the same duty. The
straight walls of the temple have trapezoidal niches in their interior faces; they were used to
keep different idols and offerings. Some authors indicate that originally this temple had a
thatched conical roof, and they name it as "Suntur Wasi", "Military Tower", etc.
Under the "Sun Temple" there is an interesting small cave known as the " Royal Tomb"; it was
named that by Bingham believing that it could shelter the mummy of a Cusquenian nobleman
or possibly that of an Inka; but he wrote that nothing was found inside it. The relationship
would be logical: the Inka buried under his father's temple. Without any doubt that small cave
must have been related to the Ukju Pacha (underground world) and the cult of dead people.
Inside the small cave, on the right side wall there are two large trapezoidal niches with
projecting fake stone beams by the height of their lintels, and two smaller niches on the
deeper wall. On the floor, there is a carving with a "stepping symbol" representing the three
levels of the Andean Religious World. In the Inkan Society all the corpses were mummified in
a fetal position with the only difference being that mummies of noblemen were kept in temples
while those of common people were buried or placed in cemeteries. Inside the Sun Temple
complex, there is also a two story construction known by some authors as the " Ñusta's
Inclosure" (ñusta = princess) and as the Priest's by some others. Because of its location in the
complex it must had a close relationship with the Temple and possibly it was the dwelling for
the Willaq Uma (High Priest).
Crossing the street, in front of the Sun Temple is the " Royal Group". It is a classical "kancha"
(an apartment for an extended family); it is the only one that is found in the area and the only
one that is very solid and built with carved stones. There is no doubt that it was the Inka's
dwelling. The group has two big rooms and two small "wayranas" around a central patio. The
eastern room is known as the bedroom and inside it, its southern portion is divided with
carved stones forming the "bed", the Inka might have slept on that corner over some blankets
woven in vicuna wool. On the northern end of the room there is a very small compartment that
people have baptized as the "bathroom", which is unusual because bathrooms are not
normally found inside the apartments.
The room that stands in front is known as the ruler's "studio"; and the two small "wayranas" on
two opposing sides were probably used as kitchen and workshop. Almost by the middle of the
central patio there is a carved stone that served as a mortar in order to grind grains or some
other goods. Leaving the group through its only entrance (today there is another way out
behind the "studio" that was opened to help tourists walk around), in the small and narrow
passage, towards the right side and about two meters high is a protruding carved stone as a
fake beam that has a hole in the middle. It must have served to hold ceremonial elements and
perhaps an "aryballus" (classic Inkan jar having a sharp-pointed base) of "chicha" (maize
beer).
Going up the stone stairs is the "Quarry" or " Granitic Chaos" sector, where there are
amorphous granite boulders; it is suggested that they were being exploited slowly. All the
mountains around the Inkan City have the same quality of rocks; that is, white-gray granite of
the Vilcabamba Batholith. Therefore, the rocks were in the place and were not transported
from the valley's bottom as some authors pretended to state. In this sector there is a partially
broken rock frequently pointed out by local guides; that is not a genuine Inkan work but simply
a sample of the technique used by that age in order to split stones, it was made in 1953.
When magma was cooled off in order to form granites, there was also a crystallizing process
by which those rocks show always natural nerves (faults or lines) on their surfaces; they were
located by the Quechua stonemasons who made holes along them. Those holes were filled
up with wooden wedges that were then soaked; thus, using expansion or swelling of soaked
wood they could split the rocks. By the start of this book there is a chapter about the
techniques and tools used in Inkan stonemasonry.
From the quarry, it is possible to go up by the stone stairway towards the southeast in order to
get the sector named as " Superior Group" (some historians name this sector as that of the
"Main City Gate", or of the "Yachaywasi" -school-). In this sector there are many constructions
with "pirka" type walls that apparently served as public buildings, among which there are
some "Qollqas" (storehouses). In this sector is the Machupicchu's Main City Gate that was the
only entrance by the southeastern part of the city. The main gate of Machupicchu was very
well protected in order to allow the entrance of just its exclusive population; in the interior face
of that doorway it is also possible to see its locking system with the stone ring over the lintel
and the two stakes inside the small carved boxes in the jambs.
Towards the quarry's west is the "Sacred Plaza" (Holy Group), where in its western end is the
" Main Temple" (Chief Temple); it is a "Wayrana" type Temple, that is, it has just three walls
made with stones that have rectangular faces and perfect snug joints, with the "Imperial
Inkan" wall type. The Main Temple shows seven trapezoidal niches on its central wall and five
on each of the lateral ones. In front of it, about 8 meters ahead and close to the "Three
Window Temple" is a huge boulder partially carved that must have been its central pillar for
supporting the roof beams; today some guides call that rock "sacrificial altar". Nowadays the
Main Temple has its central wall broken moving towards the northeast; archaeological works
demonstrated that it is a displacement due to rain filtering. Although, some geologists suggest
that it is due to a geological fault passing across this spot; they indicate even more, that there
is another fault across the Sun Temple.
The deity worshipped in this Main Temple is unknown, though, historians argue that it could
be Wiraqocha, the Andean invisible superior god. In front of this Temple's south side-wall
there is a small outcrop of carved stone that according to some authors it is a representation
of the Southern Cross, which is not categorically proved. On the northern end of the "Sacred
Plaza" is the " Temple of Three Windows", it only has three walls and when in use it had a
two-slope roof; its stones are polygonal, and comparatively it must have been earlier or less
important than the "Main Temple". The evidences indicate that this temple was originally
projected for having five windows; it seems that the two end windows were walled up once the
Temple was finished. In the central part of what would be the front wall is a single stone pillar
that served to support the thatched roof, and on its western side is a carved stone with steps
representing the three levels of the Andean World: the "Hanan-Pacha" (heaven), the "Kay-
Pacha" (earth surface) and the "Ukju-Pacha" (underground).
The existence of this Temple made Bingham believe that he had found the mythical "Tampu
T'oqo" so this was where the Inkan Civilization was originated; all that is demonstrated wrong
today. In front of the "Main Temple" there is a room having two doorways and "pirka" type
rough walls that today is named as the " Priest's House"; which is probable because of the
architectonic contrast with the surrounding buildings, as the quality of walls is in direct
relationship to the importance of every building. Behind the "Main Temple" is a small room of
excellent quality that is known as " Ornaments Chamber"; because of its location it must have
kept a close complementary relationship to the Temple. Inside it, in the lower part of the rear
wall there is an unusual low platform like a stone seat or couch; more over, there are two very
impressive polygonal boulders in both sides of the entrance that have more that 30 angles
each. Some people with very westernized or Catholic influence call this room the " Sacristy" of
the Main Temple.
From the "Holy Plaza", towards the northwest is a stairway that rises conducting directly to the
" Intiwatana" group, which seen from far away has the shape of an irregular interrupted
pyramid that Bingham named "Sacred Hill". It is impressive how the whole sector was
adapted to the shape of the natural hill. Surrounding the hill, there are many narrow terraces
that are not necessarily farming ones but served in order to stop erosion and protect the
"Intiwatana". Almost always those narrow terraces were also used as gardens, that is, with an
ornamental purpose; they have no irrigation systems as in the farming ones (excepting the
farming terraces in Machupicchu that are in a very humid area making aqueducts
unnecessary). Thus, according to their duty, it is possible to identify three terrace types:
farming, protective, and ornamental. Before arriving to the top of the hill, on the right side of
the stairway there is a ring carved on a rock that is encrusted in the wall; it possibly served in
order to support an insignia or flag kept by a spear; old accounts suggest that it was
something common in platforms like this.
The eastern top of the natural formation was flattened artificially in order to be used as an
"Usnu", that is, a special platform from which the Machupicchu chiefs could talk to their people
who were standing up on the Main Plaza located in the lower part towards the northeast. The
communication was facilitated by the high location of the platform from which there is no
interference, and by the sonority reached by human voice that is apparently reflected and
amplified when colliding with the opposing terraces. In the central part of that "Sacred Hill"
there are vestiges of finely finished buildings with their classical trapezoidal openings; around
here, there is an apparently non carved natural rock that is suggested to be a vestige of a
Machupicchu model; curiously, the shape of that rock has many coincidences with the local
geography. By the top of the hill is the famous carved rock named as "Intiwatana", its shape is
irregular (polygonal) finishing with an almost cubic polyhedron on which the top has signs of
having been hit. Originally, all the faces of this boulder must have been finely polished;
possibly the same way as the Main Temple in Ollantaytambo, that is, it had a smooth surface
almost as glass. Moreover, it must have had other auxiliary elements for its use.
The word "Intiwatana" labeling carved stones like this was first used by George Squier in
1877; that name is not found in any ancient chronicle. The correct names would be "saywa" or
"sukhanka" that were used by chroniclers. "Intiwatana" is translated as the "place where the
sun is tied up" or simply "sun fastener". The day of the winter solstice (June 21st) the
Quechuas had to perform the "Inti Raymi" (Sun Festivity) that was the biggest celebration of
the Inkan Society. In this date, the sun is located in the farthest point from the earth or vice
versa, thus the Quechuas believed that their "Tayta Inti" (Father Sun) was abandoning them.
They had to perform different rituals in order to ask the sun not to move away any more and
symbolically they had to tie it up to the "Intiwatana". However, "Intiwatana" could also have
another sense, since "Inti" is "sun" and "Wata" is "year", it could be translated as the "place
where the solar year is measured". It is unquestionable that it served as an efficient solar
observatory through measurement of the projected shadows, enabling thus fixing solstices
and equinoxes; therefore, calculating the different seasons and the 365 day year. Referring to
this stone as a "solar clock" or "sun dial", or other similar names, is wrong and results from
bad speculation. The Inkas did not need to measure the day in hours or minutes, therefore,
they did not know how to do it.
Many scholars suggest that the "Intiwatanas" also served as directional pegs in which
protrusions or determined angles the magnetic north and south may be found; all that is true
in Q'enqo, near Qosqo, and over here in Machupicchu where one angle of the carved rock
and the polyhedron base indicate the magnetic north. The astronomers White, Dearborn and
Mannheim, state that from this complex it is possible to have observations of the pleiades,
very important for Andean farming, and constellations like the Southern Cross, Spica - Alpha
and Beta Centaurs, Vega, Deneb and Altair. Local scholars indicate that Machupicchu's
Intiwatana is closely related to a regional "ceque" system (an imaginary alignment of
observatories and temples) that includes surrounding mountains and valleys. According to
Cusquenian archaeologists Valencia and Gibaja, "All these elements affirm the idea that the
Machupicchu's Intiwatana sculpted rock, is a cosmic and ritual axle of great religious and tonic
meaning, clearly associated with some other points, that determine important ceremonial
axles in Inkan times".
Going down by the stairway towards the Intiwatana's northwest is the north end of
Machupicchu, where the " Sacred Rock" is found. It is a small complex where there are two
very similar "wayranas", one in front of the other and with "pirka" type walls. They served as
temples or altars for worshipping the "Sacred Rock" that stands towards the northeast, by the
middle of them. The "Sacred Rock" is a natural projection of the mountain and stands
surrounded by a stone pedestal, its surface is relatively smooth and was possibly also finely
polished like the Ollantaytambo boulders, but erosion of 4 or more centuries of abandonment
changed the surface polish and even its whole shape. In the Inkan Religion it is believed that
the mountains constitute or have "apus" (superior spirits) considered as peoples' protectors
(today mountains are still worshipped in the Andean Religion).
Many scholars believe that the "Sacred Rock" is simply the representation of the Yanantin
Mountain, standing behind it. In ancient times the silhouettes of the rock and mountain were
identic, but today they are almost similar due to the natural erosion over the rock. However,
some authors argue that the rock must had another shape, possibly that of a "Lying Puma" or
a "Guinea Pig". Behind this rock, in 1911 Bingham found the writing "A. Lizarraga 1901".
Towards the north of this complex is the trail leading to the Waynapicchu Mountain and
towards the Southeast is the city's Main Plaza.
The " Main Plaza" is the biggest open and flat space existing in Machupicchu, it is towards the
northeast and by the feet of the "Intiwatana". It was the place where the population's popular
ceremonies were carried out; perhaps also the "Inti Raymi" or Sun Festivity like as in Qosqo's
Main Square. Nearby this plaza there are terraces that did not have a farming duty but served
simply to flatten the terrain; in the totally irregular Machupicchu's topography, that was the
only way to achieve flat spaces.
In Machupicchu's eastern area, toward the northeast of the Main Plaza there are many other
buildings with "pirka" type walls (with rough mud-bonded stones); the buildings layout in this
area is somewhat complex, and includes sectors that are differently named, such as " Higher
Group", " Three Doorway Unit", etc. Those are basically buildings that served as apartments,
storehouses, and some other utilitarian duties. Towards the east of this complex are
interesting buildings with different altars, semi-underground buildings, sculpted stones with
diverse shapes, etc., about which there are not deep interpretative studies yet. By this zone
there is also an interesting cave containing a partially carved window named Intimachay that
was studied by Dearborn who argues that from inside the cave it is possible to see just 2° of
horizon through the window that is aligned with the sunrise in the summer solstice (December
21st). The 2° margin enabled the solstice observation during 10 days before and after the
event, a lapse that was necessary in the case of a cloudy and rainy zone like Machupicchu.
Even farther to the southeast of the previous sector is the named " Mortars Group", to which
some authors name the " Industrial Sector". The architectonic quality of its walls indicate that
it had a serious importance in the city; Bingham named it as "Ingenuity Group". This was
apparently a very exclusive group because it has a double jamb doorway and inside, it still
has the door locking system with two small carved boxes and their stone stakes. From the
floor to about two meters high, the walls were made with sculpted stones, but the superior
part was made with rougher ones; that difference suggests perhaps a construction in two
different stages. Inside that group there is a room having two circular "mortars", both having
almost the same diameter and carved on a granite outcrop in the floor.
Some historians suggest that those were mortars used in order to grind diverse elements for
making weavings or pottery in the sector that was "industrial"; though, the mortars do not
appear to have had much use. Others indicate that those were seats for "aryballus" (pointed
base jars) containing "chicha" (maize beer). Likewise it is suggested that they were filled up
with water in order to serve as "mirrors" for astral observations during clear nights, alleging
that this enclosure was not roofed; but according to many modern astronomers that is a weak
possibility because it is more practical to observe the sky directly and not using mirrors.
Towards the south of the previous room there is a very interesting building compound of two
identical "wayranas" or rooms having just three walls that share one central dividing wall;
instead of their front wall they present a column that supported the roof beams. In this
complex there are also some other rooms having the same quality, sculpted rocks looking like
altars, etc.
One of the most fascinating and enigmatic sectors in Machupicchu is that of the "Condor"
located toward the southeast of the "mortars". The "Temple of the Condor" form something
like a labyrinth where in its lower and central portion there is a sculpture on a granite outcrop
with the shape of an Andean Condor having a beak, the classic white collar around its neck
and its whole body. Behind, there are two huge rocks surrounding it; they represent its wings,
giving the impression of being a landing condor. It is obvious that this was a sacred spot built
on purpose in order to worship the "Apu Kuntur" (Condor God) that was one of the three
sacred animals of the Inkan Society along with the Puma (cougar or mountain lion) and the
Snake; therefore its duty was strictly religious.
The Andean Condor was and still is a special divinity on the Andes highlands, but the
ceremonies carried out to worship it in ancient times are unknown. However, today the
Andean people of some concealed villages in the highlands of Peru annually carry out their
festivity called "Yawar Fiesta" or "Blood Festivity" (see chapter of Andean Condor) in which a
living Condor is worshipped in a very special way. On the other hand, some other authors
suggest that over here was Machupicchu's "Jail". It is argued that in this place there were
pumas and perhaps also snakes, so those who were punished were left inside and had to die
inexorably; after those persons died, over here landed Condors and some other birds of prey
to devour the remains of the punished fellows.
It is argued that over here existed two types of punishment and that the niches with small
holes on their jambs that are found over the Condor's left wing served for tying the hands of
those punished (those niches were originally covered with a roof). Moreover, it is argued that
the other higher niches in the rear wall that have a small back opening served for another
different punishment: the "walling in" of punished fellows, who were inserted and walled up
inside the niches with their faces towards the upper openings that served them in order to
breath and consume food. In Inkan times this sector was complementary to the "Temple of
the Condor"; and because of its location and its multiple characteristics this complex must
have carried out a highly ritual duty and not that of a "jail".
Hiram Bingham and his teams worked intensively in Machupicchu and the whole
archaeological park during 5 years, digging practically every square meter. In its surroundings
they found ancient tombs, mummies and remains of 173 persons always enclosed along with
their daily life belongings; including clothing, pottery, food, ornaments, etc. After all his works
Bingham informed that no artifact of precious metal was found in Machupicchu; that which
today is refuted by the Agustin Lizarraga's widow and descendants who assert that the
intrepid young peasant established in the area before Bingham's arrival, discovered
Machupicchu during his explorations looking for farming lands by the year 1900. They say
that Lizarraga arrived to this lost city using the trail that leads from the San Miguel zone to the
"Holy Plaza" and that in his successive visits found in some niches objects of ceramic, stone,
gold and silver. Objects that he sold to a well known rich merchant in Qosqo. That could be
true because of the "crude charcoal autographs" found by Bingham on the beautiful granite
walls including the writing "A. Lizarraga 1901" behind the "Sacred Rock"; and as the same
North-American explorer when describing a grave wrote: "We know that Lizarraga had been
treasure hunting on these forest-clad slopes at least ten years before our visit...". Once that
Lizarraga died "in very strange circumstances" in 1912, he left for his widow some treasures
that she donated to the Santa Clara convent in Qosqo, after being in Catholic confession
persuaded by the priest so that with her donation she could get "peace and salvation for her
soul". It is possible that no peasant other than Lizarraga could have had profaned the site
because in the traditional Andean Society there is always a profound ancestral respect and
reverence towards ancient "Wakas". There is much more respect for the ancestors' tombs
that can not be profaned believing that they are protected and profaning them brings
misfortune, diseases, death and some other maledictions.
Bingham wrote that every object he got when working in Machupicchu was deposited in Yale
University. But today (1997) a visit to observe the Machupicchu's artifacts in Yale's "Peabody
Museum of Natural History" located in New Haven, Connecticut, is more than disappointing
(Click here to go to the museum website). The exhibit consists of 10 pieces of Inka pottery, 10
of metallurgy, 10 of stonework, 3 wooden cups, very few textiles, and one of the nicest Inkan
"qhipu" existing in the world (most of the pieces are from Machupicchu, not all of them but the
exhibit does not tell which ones; even more, not even a single picture of Machupicchu!).
Besides, there are small niches displaying mainly pottery of pre-Inkan Civilizations. Peruvians
hope that someday, the artifacts listed by Bingham in his various publications will be returned
to Machupicchu where they belong.
The Waynapicchu Mountain is that found towards the north of the city and which appears in
the background of Machupicchu's classical pictures. By its summit there are some retaining
terraces that were made for avoiding erosion as well as for serving as gardens. It is possible
to get to the summit using the path that is located by the left flank of the mountain. The way
up was basically a long stairway; in various sectors its steps were simply carved on the
mountain rock. Climbing up slowly takes one hour approximately, and it is not dangerous;
however, the person that tries it must keep his eyes open since the path is by the edge of
precipices and some carelessness or a wrong step could be fatal, and whoever attempts it
must not suffer from vertigo. From the summit, there is a spectacular panoramic view of the
Inkan City, of the Urubamba canyon and the mountains around; it seems that over here
existed a very important Quechua sanctuary.
From Machupicchu it is also possible to take some other short walks. One of them is towards
the " Inkan Bridge" for which, it is necessary to reach the small "Watchman Post" located on
the upper area of the farming sector; from that spot there is a trail towards the southwest.
After about 20 minutes of walking one gets to the present-day end of the path, from where
there is a view of the trail carved on the mountain-face as well as of the bases of a draw
bridge. It is supposed that the draw bridge structure was of light wood that was removed or
saved in order to avoid trespassing of non authorized persons; thus they enabled the
protection of Machupicchu.
Somewhat lower than the same "Watchman Post" is the Inka Trail that originally joined
Machupicchu with Qosqo; that trail is a good sample of the Quechua engineering and
construction technology, it still keeps its original pavement of flagstones and it is very wide.
When following it, after about 1.5 miles is the pass named Intipunku (Sun Gate), and even
farther, about 7 Kms. (4.4 miles) away from Machupicchu is the small Inkan town of
Wiñaywayna. Around there, in a higher level is the farming complex of Intipata.
                                  CHICHEN ITZA
The ancient Maya ruins of Chichén Itzá, located on Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula about
50 miles inland south of the Caribbean coastline, represent the remains of one of the
largest and most powerful city states of the pre-Columbian Americas. While the fully-
restored monumental core of Chichén Itzá's archaeological zone covers
approximately 5 square kilometers and is one of the most popular tourist attractions
in the world, the estimated extent of dense urban development at the city's peak is
thought to have reached 25 square kilometers. However, much of these surrounding
ruins are unexcavated and are currently covered with a mixture of dense forest and
farms. Chichén Itzá translates as "At the Mouth of the Well of the Itza" in Yucatec
Mayan, a reference to the nearby Sacred Cenote, or sinkhole, where offerings were
made to various deities and from which the city derived much of its water supply.

Chichén Itzá was a highly cosmopolitan city with a wide range of distinct
architectural styles displayed in both its domestic buildings and major monuments.
This range is reflective of both local Yucatecan styles and influence from several
prominent Mesoamerican cultural groups and clans that were drawn to the city as a
regional      center      during     its     long     history     of    occupation.

The civic heart of Chichén Itzá is surrounded by a boundary wall and was the
ultimate destination of several long, broad stucco-paved roads (plurally known as
Sacbeob) leading to surrounding population centers and other areas of importance.
This central plaza is essentially an immense platform defined by three great building
complexes surrounding it. The buildings along the Great Plaza are seemingly
designed in such a manner as to pay homage to Kukulkan, the feathered serpent
divinity also associated with a legendary king of the Toltecs who was broadly
worshipped in Mexico. Kukulkan was alternatively known as Quetzalcoatl, a
manifestation named and revered by the later Aztec empire up through the Spanish
conquest.

According to archaeologist Cynthia Kristan-Graham, many structures at the site
reflect a concept of city planning known as a ‘Galactic Polity’; at Chichén Itzá, scale
replicas of important buildings connect to their larger center by means of a specific
Sacbe (ceremonial road). This pattern can be seen at archaeological site of Mayapan
as well, which was constructed as a small-scale replica of Chichén Itzá’s monumental
core.

To the plaza's west side is the Great Ball Court, the largest in all of Mesoamerica at
154.8 meters in length and bounded by walls reaching over 9 meters in height. The
Pyramid of Kukulkan, also known as El Castillo, is located to the south and reaches
30 meters in height with a base extending over 55 meters across. The Temple of the
Warriors, located to the east, is a four-platform structure surrounded by 200 round
and square columns with bas-relief carvings depicting individual warriors. This
temple is very similar in design to the Temple of the Warriors in the Toltec city of
Tula, over 1000 kilometers away in the northern Valley of Mexico. The Sacred
Cenote is located along a wide stucco-paved Sacbe 300 meters to the north.

Further to the south of Chichén Itzá's Great Plaza are located several smaller
building complexes, primarily built in the elaborately-carved Puuc (Yucatec Mayan for
Hills) architectural style common in nearby cities, such as Sayil and Uxmal. These
building complexes date to the same time period as these cities. While the
ceremonial monuments of the Great Plaza are primarily dedicated to the worship of
Kukulkan, the constructions to the south are mainly dedicated to the Maya deity
Chaak (or Chac), a curl-nosed divinity primarily associated with the bringing of rain;
these structures embodied the value of water, as Chichén Itzá was located in a dry
tropical forest environment where drought could easily bring widespread famine.

Chichén Itzá contains a relatively wide range of roofing styles, which is unique for a
Mayan archaeological site. The site includes rectangular beam-and-mortar structures
such as the temple atop El Castillo, wooden or thatch ones such as the roof that
probably rested atop El Mercado, and Mexican-styled round structures such as El
Caracol. The majority of the structures, however, were built with the traditional Maya
corbeled vault, which is a narrow vault made of courses of stone that are projected
into an apex, creating a triangular archway. The Nunnery, so-called by the Spanish
as they felt it resembled the convents of Spain, features carved stone latticework
and Chaak masks decorating the upper facades and corners of the buildings.

Nearby is the fascinating structure known as the Caracol, a stone structure round in
plan, that originally generated a cylindrical shape with a domed roof, now partially
ruined. Narrow windows cut into the outer walls seem to have been designed in
order to observe the irregular movements of Venus, which was considered to be the
sun's twin and held great significance for the Maya, particularly in decisions
pertaining to war. The staircase at the front of the Caracol faces 27.5 degrees north
of west, perfectly in line with the northern positional extreme of Venus and
producing alignments at the building's northeast and southeast corners that track
both the summer and winter solstices. The Caracol is one of the oldest standing
observatories in the Americas, and highlights the great importance that astrological
phenomena         held     for     the       people       of     Chichén       Itzá.
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History




3D model of El Castillo, an
interpretation modeled from
laser scan data


Chichén Itzá's history as a major political center in the northern Yucatán is
extensive, stretching from the Classic period well into the Post-Classic. Towards the
beginning of the 7th century CE, during the beginning of the Late Classic, this Maya
agricultural region saw increasing population density and the construction of some
permanent structures, including the Puuc-styled Las Monjas (Nunnery) complex. It
was during the 9th century, however, that the settlement began to turn into a city,
and by the early 10th century, during the Terminal Classic, Chichén Itzá was a
regional powerhouse. As this was happening, major Classic-period centers to the
south in the central Maya lowlands, such as Tikal and Palenque, were undergoing the
profound social and demographic shift popularly known as the Classic Maya Collapse.
These cities gradually ceased to function as major centers and caused an exodus of
people to migrate from the densely-populated central lowland area to other cities,
such as those along the Gulf coasts and in the ancient Maya heartland in the volcanic
highlands                      to                      the                     south.

The region that received the greatest population expansion during the Terminal
Classic period, however, are the northern lowlands of the Yucatán, where Chichén
Itzá became the largest and most powerful city. With this influx of diverse
populations, a powerful new ideology emerged at Chichén Itzá in the mid-9th
century, combining elements of the belief systems of Classic-period lowland Maya,
the militarized Putun Maya from the Gulf Coast (including the Itza), traditional
Yucatec Maya beliefs, and religious beliefs and military traditions of peoples from the
Valley of Mexico. These far-flung affiliates included the Toltecs, whose Temple of the
Warriors at their capital Tula bears marked architectural and thematic commonalities
with the same-titled complex at Chichén Itzá. The legendary king Topiltzin Ce Acatl
of Tula, often conflated with the deity Quetzalcoatl/Kukulcan, is claimed by
ethnohistorical sources to have come to Chichén Itzá during the 10th century CE.

As with many places in Mesoamerica during the Post-Classic, distinctions between
traditional and regional cultures in the Yucatán became blurred as the populations in
large cities became ethnically-mixed. As a result, power was often based more on
ideological affiliations or conquest than rigidly-defined ethnicities. Chichén Itzá, with
a mostly local Yucatec Maya population, established regional alliances with polities
such as Uxmal that are reflected in both hieroglyphic inscriptions and Puuc
architectural commonalities. Concurrently, the Putun Maya lineage known as the Itza
was expanding its sphere of influence into Yucatán's southwestern Gulf Coast, at the
city of Chakanputun (now called Champoton). The Itza were primarily maritime
traders, their sphere was quite large and they had active canoe-route networks as
far afield as Honduras. Chichén Itzá had frontiers throughout the Maya region and in
the                                    Valley                                    Mexico.

In the mid-9th century, according to the Book of Chilam Balam, the Itza established
a presence at Chichén Itzá, and were firmly in control of the city by 987 CE. Many of
the major constructions in and near the Great Plaza (such as the Ball Court and the
Caracol) had been built a few decades earlier, but it was during the Itza period that
these buildings took on the specific motifs and monumental character that was to
last for the next 200 years. During this period of Itza dominance, with help from
their Mexican allies and trading partners, strong military and religious traditions from
the Valley of Mexico were cemented in Chichén Itzá by the Itza themselves. Some
other powerful lineages also held some influence in the city: the Cocom, the Chel,
and the Xiu, whose capital was in Uxmal 100 kilometers to the west. All of these
groups vied for power in both Chichén Itzá and across the region; as a result, small-
scale warfare and political intrigue were commonplace during the city's long and
powerful fluorescence as a center of culture, commerce, and military might
unparalleled               in               the              Maya                 world.

Chichén Itzá is alleged, by the Book of Chilam Balam, to have finally collapsed in
1221 from a violent revolt by non-Itza lineages, as well as attacks from the city of
Mayapan (which had a city center designed as a small-scale replica of Chichén Itzá)
under the Cocom ruler Hunac Ceel. The Itza were driven out of Chichén Itzá and
Mayapan's period of dominance began, lasting until the collapse of Mayapan in 1441
after a Xiu revolt; this event marked the civil wars that began in the mid 15th
century. Chichén Itzá (particularly the Sacred Cenote) continued to be a place of
pilgrimage for all the lineages, even while it lay mostly uninhabited and firmly within
Cocom territory. The civil wars continued for almost a hundred years, fracturing
potential Maya alliances against the Spanish, who subjugated the peoples of the
Yucatán in 1546. As for the Itza, they were driven far south to the Petén in the
central lowlands. There, they came to settle at the island city of Tayasal on Lake
Petén Itza, near the ancient ruined city of Tikal and on the site of what is now the
Guatemalan city of Flores. Being particularly fierce, isolated, and in a defensible
position, the Itza city of Tayasal did not fall to the Spanish until 1697 and
represented the last major Maya polity to fall in the long and brutal Spanish
Conquest.

Hieroglyphic records indicate that the Post-Classic Yucatán has a history marked by
the rulership of lineages such as the Itza, Cocom, and Xiu. These lineages were
essentially ethnic groups, and monumental inscriptions emphasized group identity.
This is in stark contrast to expressions of power in the Classic Period Maya polities of
the central lowlands, which emphasized the divinity of individual rulers and their
immediate                              dynastic                            successors.

Recent archaeological investigation has presented compelling evidence that Chichén
Itzá actually ceased to function as a major power center sometime in the early 11th
century, 200 years earlier than the chronicles indicate. If this is true, then there is a
large time gap between the fall of Chichén Itzá and the rise to regional prominence
of Mayapan in the mid-13th century. Perhaps the 16th-century chronicles reflect a
biased view of the city's history and decline from the perspective of the different
ethnic groups struggling for power in a politically-fractured landscape, or perhaps the
most recent archaeology is not presenting an accurate chronological picture.

Chichén Itzá never left the consciousness of Maya peoples of the Yucatán, though
besides several mentions in Spanish colonial chronicles it was not investigated by
westerners until Frederick Catherwood and John Lloyd Stephens began documenting
it in 1842, capturing the public imagination and beginning a long series of
archaeological investigations that continue to the present day. Cleared and restored,
Chichén Itzá now stands as one of the greatest cities and centers for technological
achievement in the pre-Columbian Americas. It is one of the world's most popular
tourist attractions, and serves as an enduring symbol of cultural pride for both
modern Mexico as a nation and millions of people of indigenous descent in the
Yucatán                                                                        today.
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Project Narrative
North elevation of El Castillo, drawn from laser scan data


In 2007, the Oakland, California-based Chabot Space and Science Center, in
conjunction with InSight Digital and ArtsLab, embarked upon a mission to produce
High Definition laser and photographic data from the ruins of Chichén Itzá’s civic
core for its ambitious Maya Skies Project. CyArk was called upon to spearhead the
mission for its expertise in the HD Documentation and Heritage fields. In October
2007 CyArk assembled a documentation team to be sent to the Yucatán, in
conjunction with their Michigan partners Metco Services. Over the course of three
weeks, a highly detailed data set was produced which included HDS, close-range
Laser Scanning, panoramic photography, HDR photography, and traditional survey.
Dozens of scans were produced from a Leica Geosystems Scan Station laser scanner,
including 37 scans of the Caracol structure alone, which was the most complex
structure and the main focus of the project. Six other important structures in the
civic core were also thoroughly scanned, including El Castillo. A site-wide closed
traverse encompassing the six focus structures was completed, with 20 primary
control points included. The overall angular error of closure was five seconds with an
accuracy of 1/32000. The data collected was used as part of the Chabot Center’s
Maya Skies Project exhibit, and is accessible online in the CyArk Website Archive.
This entire project was made possible by a grant from the National Science
Foundation.


CHICHÉN ITZÁ is a major national park in Mexico and has become one of the most
popular tourist destinations in the world, particularly due to its proximity to the
international resort city of Cancún, where a day trip to the site is considered an
important part of any stay in the region. As a result of this, the site’s core has
sustained considerable wear, with over 100,000 visitors per year climbing on
monuments that in the pre-Columbian past likely saw only the footprints of a small
cadre of social and religious elites. Citing concerns over safety after various incidents
of death and serious injury that visitors have sustained over the years at Chichén
Itzá, the Mexico's INAH has closed down most of the popular monuments to foot
traffic. This includes El Castillo, which was closed after a tourist fell to her death in
2006. Additionally, the Jaguar Throne room was also closed down in 2007. While
these closures have often frustrated longtime visitors to the site, they will likely
prolong the lifespan of many of the monuments, which have been structurally worn
down       due      to     a      huge      amount       of     tourist      traffic.

Beyond the fully restored 5km core area of Chichén Itzá, the actual ruins of the city
and overall archaeological zone extend over 25km and hold many unexcavated ruins
and areas of high historical/archaeological significance. Both the core and the overall
archaeological zone are actually located on private land, and though the core area is
under the official stewardship and protection of the INAH, the surrounding areas are
not under any state protections and are primarily utilized for agricultural purposes by
village cooperatives and individual landowners. Issues surrounding local patrimony
over land ownership and questions of proper use have often pitted indigenous Maya
farmers (often self-identified as Ladinos, inferring a lack of emphasis on
indigenousness in favor of a Mexican or broader Yucatecan identity) against
archaeologists. Additionally, large international companies who own and operate
many of the tourist hotels in the region have expanded outward from the periphery
of the site core which has raised issues with the Mexican National Government
represented by the INAH. These issues are further complicated by an influx of people
to the region who have come to work as vendors of goods and services for the
tourist trade, and who now constitute a significant new population that want their
own land and resources. All these issues together make for a site with a well-
maintained core, but in danger of being overwhelmed by tourism and its requisite
population pressures, which may make the site unable to sustain itself.