Stonework at Sacsayshuaman—The City Nephi Built – Part IV

Continued from the previous post regarding the fortress and more specifically the towers at Sacsayhuaman.

Part of the three tiered outer walls on the north side of the fortress

Some of the Spanish chroniclers of the conquest wrote that not in the strangest kingdoms had they seen stronger fortresses or castles, made of stone so large that not the smallest of them could be carried with three carts—they were convinced that Sacsayhuaman was a fortress because it had towers and walls, huge impenetrable walls. They were especially impressed with the three defensive walls and the terraces behind them allowing a defense like none they had ever seen. Even today, analyzing the archaeological footprint and deciphering the advanced engineering that went into building Sacsayhuaman, it has not been discovered how it was done. When visiting the esplanade of Sacsayhuaman one has to marvel at the megalithic corner stones, some of which famously weigh more than 100 tons with some rounded.
    Within this triple row of walls there was a long narrow space containing three strong towers, though all that is left today are the stone bases of each because after the conquest, they tore down the smaller stones and carried them down into the valley to build Spanish Cuzco.

The outer walls of Sacsayhauman obviously built for defense

Today, some historians think Sacsayhuaman was not a fortress but a religious monument erected in honor of the sun god; however, it was both. Inside the outer walls were numerous buildings, one of which was a magnificent temple, along with a fortress, barracks as sleeping and living quarters interconnected by trapezoidal doors for up to 5,000 men, and three towers, one of which was a lookout tower, four or five stories high with an open roof that had a 360º view of considerable distance, especially down upon the Valley as well as neighboring valleys.
Towers. There were three large towers on the hill at Sacsayhuaman, which were torn down by the conquering Spaniards following the final defeat of the Inca in 1576. All that remains today are the foundations of these towers, and impressive is the stonework involved. According to Garcilaso, under the turrets there were immense tunnels that interconnected with each other and to the three towers.”
    Later, Pedro Pizarro made reference to two towers "formed by two very high cubes," probably only able to observe Paucamarca and Sallacmarca since Muyucmarca had already been destroyed by the Spanish, the blocks torn down and scattered—most to end up in the building of Spanish Cuzco in the valley below.
    The latter two towers contained many rooms for the soldiers on guard who relieved one another in due order. They were connected by trapezoidal doors, and all three towers went as far below ground as they did above it. There were tunnels between them so that one could pass from one tower to the others below ground as well as above it.
    The tunnels were made with great skill and there were many, both large and small, twisting and turning in all directions, with many doors, all of the same size but some opening on one side and some on the other, causing invaders to lose their way in the maze.
    When dressing stone for walls they prepared corbels (piece of stone jutting from a wall), for lining underground tunnels, and on top of these, in place of beams, they set long flagstones, dressed on all six sides, which stretched from wall to wall and were tightly fitted together. The entire structure of the fortress was of stonework, either rough-hewn or expertly and skillfully dressed.

The foundation stones of the tower base of Muyumarca Tower

These three towers were:

1. The Muyucmarca Tower. The chief or main tower was called Muyuc Marca “The round fortress” (Round Tower), since it was circular in shape. It was also known as ‘La torre de Cahuide,” or Cahuide Tower, named after the rebellious Inca leader. It was a huge building (today only the foundation base remains) with an important historical value. It is known that the Inca general Titu Cusi Huallpa (also called Cahuide) jumped from the highest part to avoid being taken prisoner by the Spanish during the Incan resistance of 1536.
    The Muyumarca consisted of three concentric, circular stone walls connected by a series of radial walls with the foundation base surrounded by a rectangular wall. It was 100-feet high, and the largest of the three towers. There were three channels constructed to bring water into what many consider to be a reservoir, and a web-like pattern of 34 lines intersecting at the center and also there was a pattern of concentric circles in  the foundation that corresponded to the location of the circular walls.  
    The tower itself was round and contained a large water cistern and extensive conduits. There were six pairs of canals between the center and middle ring and twelve between the middle and outer foundations, with the canals running inward fed by underground channels.
    This brings to mind the event when Noah became king over the Nephites that returned back to the city of Nephi: “he built a tower near the temple; yea, a very high tower, even so high that he could stand upon the top thereof and overlook the land of Shilom, and also the land of Shemlon, which was possessed by the Lamanites; and he could even look over all the land round about…he caused many buildings to be built in the land Shilom; and he caused a great tower to be built on the hill north of the land Shilom, which had been a resort for the children of Nephi at the time they fled out of the land” (Mosiah 11:12-13).
    The excavation of this tower next to the temple confirmed that its foundations consisted of three concentric circles of wall of which the outer was seventy-five feet in diameter. It had four or five stepped stories of superimposed bodies, giving this tiered, cone-shape tower a lower story body with a square plan, and the last three cylindrical in shape.
    It was an impressive work that aroused the admiration of several chroniclers, but the Spaniards destroyed it and it was eventually forgotten. When it was discovered in 1936, very little of the old constructions built on the terraces of the complex remained.
    Between the towers of Muyu Marca and Sallac Marca there is now an elongated square where one is provided a magnificent view of the City of Cuzco. On the highest terrace of the complex is a circular pool, which was probably a reservoir of water, along with a rectangular building with a single door.
    At the southeastern end of the complex is a curved platforms and two Colca alignments. In general, throughout the complex, there are traces of an excellent water supply system for its occupants, as well as a rainwater drainage system. It also had a fountain, supplied by underground channels, and a large cistern and extensive conduits. Tunnels under towers allowed movement and communication with the city and palaces.

The foundation of the Paucamarca Tower

2. The Paucamarca Tower. The remains of this tower are located east of the archaeological site and is currently covered in dirt. It is likely to have a rectangular shape, but has not as yet been excavated. It was mostly dismantled in 1540s to help build Spanish houses in Cuzco. It stood on a rectangular base sixty-five feet long, having five stories that were stepped inward, and built of coursed rectangular ashlars. It contained a warren of mall chambers, far too many rooms and towers for one person to visit them all in a day, that were capable of housing 5000 warriors (John Hemming, The Conquest of the Inca, Harcourt, New York, 1970, pp196-197).

The foundation of the Sallaqmarca Tower

3. The Sallaqmarca Tower. The remains of this rectangular tower are located in the center of Sacsayhuaman. At present, only the foundations of the tower remain, since it was torn down by the Spaniards after the Inca rebellion. As with the other towers, the tunnel underneath was as deep as the tower was high, and connected the three towers together. The tallest “hollow structure” had many small rooms and was used as a garrison similar to the structures built by the Yarivilca civilization along the upper Marañon.
    In general, in the entire complex at Sacsayhauman there are traces of a superb system of water supply for its inhabitants, as well as a drainage system with water channels for rain water. As evidenced on the second tier or terrace, there were thirty-six drainage channels to keep the area free of rain and runoff water.
(See the next post, “Stonework at Sacsayshuaman—The City Nephi Built – Part V,” for more regarding the tiered terraces at the back and tunnels, esplanade and area behind the fortress)