Stonework at Sacsayshuaman—The City Nephi Built – Part II

Continued from the previous post regarding the remarkable ancient Peruvian stonework at Sacsayhuaman. This stonework was built with locally available rock, from limestone to granite; however, the "local" supply might be several miles distant and involve a transportation problem that would have daunted a less capable people.

The stone quarries of Huayrange from which the huge stones cut and dressed for Sacsayhuaman were cut and dressed fifteen miles 

An interesting stone at Sacsayhuaman in Cuzco was abandoned while being cut in two; the row of narrow holes forming the line along which it was to be split obviously shows the use of iron tools. As Nephi wrote: “And I said: Lord, whither shall I go that I may find ore to molten, that I may make tools to construct the ship after the manner which thou hast shown unto me? And the Lord told me whither I should go to find ore, that I might make tools” (1 Nephi 17:9-10). Nephi also tells us he “taught his people how to work in iron and steel” (2 Nephi 5:15), and Jarom claims early on the Nephites had “machinery and steel, making all manner of tools of every kind to till the ground” (Jarom 1:8)
    In other areas of the fortress, we see some incredible stonework: staggered, mortarless, irregular stones, fitted together like jigsaw puzzle pieces. This stonework construction has remained standing after numerous devastating earthquakes that have crumbled the adobe and brick structures all around it.
    In addition to quarries, stones were found on landslide talus, obviating the need to detach the stone from the living bedrock.

Percussion marks which assisted in movement and working of large blocks of stone

Whether the blocks of stone were cut from bedrock or shaped from existing rocks or talus, the stones could be shaped by percussion using hammerstones, "Peck marks" or, more properly called percussion marks, which are obvious on much of the ancient Peruvian stonework.
    In fact, recent experiments have shown that stones can be shaped with remarkable precision by using a series of increasingly smaller hammerstones as the face is pounded into its final form.

A stone with drilled holes and gouged separation line in preparation to being split

The ancient Peruvian could also drill holes through rock, probably using grit and some sort of pestle stone. Holes drilled through rock are narrowest in the middle and flare outwards, as drilling with a pestle and grit would inevitably wallow out the first-drilled portions of the hole.
    But neither shaping stone into rectangular blocks nor drilling holes through hard rock constitute reasons for the fame of the Peruvians as the champion stonecutters of human history.

Top: The  famous stone with 12 angles or corners on a wall in Cuzco; Bottom: A stone with 11 angles

The glory of their stonecutting lies in their ability to cut unusual shapes and fit them tightly together, as exemplified by the famous “twelve-angled stone” found in a wall in Cuzco along the Hatun Rumiuyoq “the Road with the big stone.”
    The twelve-angled stone is composed of a formation of intrusive igneous rocks called diorite, and is recognized by its fine finishing and twelve-angled border, an example of perfectionist ancient Peruvian architecture and a great example of knowledge in the evolution of construction. There are other stones with the same vertices but the twelve-angled stone is the most famous. It is remarkable since all twelve angles fit perfectly with the eleven stones that border it.
    Since the are so tightly fit, it has often been asked “How did they achieve these amazing close tolerances?”
    The fact is, these ancient Peruvian stonefitters worked stone with a precision unparalleled in human history. Their architects and engineers clearly esteemed functionality above decoration; yet their constructions achieved breathtaking beauty through austerity of line and contiguity of numerous masses—with elegantly proportioned trapezoid, which serves the dual ends of functionality and severely restrained decoration.

Trapezoidal doorways, windows and niches are found throughout the stonework of ancient Peruvians

Trapezoidal doorways, windows, and wall niches are found at Sacsayhuaman and throughout all of Andean Peru in ancient Peruvian constructions of all types, from the most finely wrought temples to crudely built walls in unimportant buildings. The doorways and windows are obviously functional, and the niches probably served a variety of functions as yet unidentified by archeologists. Placement of these trapezoidal openings was primarily functional, but occasionally, design appearance might been intended.
    These trapezoidal openings are called "double jamb doorways", and have a recessed lip several inches wide inside the outer trapezoid. This inner lip was, in most cases, a design element that indicated an important doorway to a high status site. Such a jamb might also have facilitated the emplacement of a wooden door to close the opening, which is indicated by a variety of carved stone devices apparently used to hold a door in place. Simple stone rings carved in both sides of doorways probably were used to tie a bar or other largely symbolic barrier in place, to indicate a closed area. While no original wooden doors have survived the centuries, elaborate closure devices associated with numerous important entries and gateways appear to have been used to hold real doors in place. 
    As stated earlier, terraced walls at Sacsayhuaman were excellent for defending the fortress and temple complex. Attackers were forced to exposed their backs when assailing the massive walls that deviated or veered alternately to right and to left. The three tiered interlocking stone walls that snaked across the northern end of the complex were augmented with single walls on both the east and west, with the south falling away in a steep slope down to the valley. The location was perfect for defending the complex, which could hold about 10,000 people.

Top: West defensive wall; Bottom: Eat defensive wall; these two walls, along ith the three tiered north wall cover three sides of Sacsayhuaman

On the east slope, overlooking the valley and settlement below, a stone wall runs along the north side of the Fortress.
    These, and all the walls at Sacsayhuaman and in Cuzco were stones of impressive size, cut and fitted in a unique manner to provide an unusual mosaic unmatched elsewhere in fit, joints and quality of work
    All of this work brings to mind Nephi’s statement after they founded the city in the Land of Nephi, “I did teach my people to build buildings… And I, Nephi, did build a temple; and I did construct it after the manner of the temple of Solomon save it were not built of so many precious things; for they were not to be found upon the land, wherefore, it could not be built like unto Solomon's temple. But the manner of the construction was like unto the temple of Solomon; and the workmanship thereof was exceedingly fine” (2 Nephi 5:15-16).
(See the next post, “Stonework at Sacsayshuaman—The City Nephi Built – Part III,” for more on the unique construction at this hilltop fortress, and specifically the gates, entrances and towers found there)