Why Was Ollantaytambo Built as a Fortress on top of a Mountain?

Ollantaytambo (Ullantaytampu) is an architectural site built in southern Peru 45 miles northwest of Cuzco in what is called the Sacred Valley. It is located at an altitude of 9,160 feet above sea level, on top of a mountain called Cerro Bandolista, overlooking a valley far below. Today, the main settlement is located in that valley, on the left margin of the Patakancha River, close to the point where it joins the Willkanuta—it is an affluent of the Pampas River with a smaller compound called “Araqhama” with the plaza of Manyafakion on the right, which is the western prolongation of the main settlement, across the Patakancha River.

It features a large plaza, called Manyaraki, surrounded by constructions made of adobe and semicut stones—to the north of Manyaraki are several sanctuaries with carved stones, sculpted rock faces, and elaborate waterworks, which includes the Templo de Agua and the Baño de la Ñusta.

These buildings have a much larger area than their counterparts in the main settlement; they also have very tall walls and oversized doors. To the south are other structures, but smaller and built out of fieldstones. The main ceremonial center is located beyond Araqhama. To protect this mountain retreat or small fort, is a series of near vertical stone terraces six feet high guarding the only entrance upward.

The near vertical climb up to the resort on top through the terraces of Pumatallis

 

The question that arises upon seeing the site on top of the steep hill that requires a near vertical climb upward, is why did the ancients build up there when the valley below was near water, easily accessible, with plenty of room for crops without having to build terraces.  

On Pinkuylluna Mountain, overlooking the site, there is a natural sculpture in the rock that is called “Viracocha,” which was the Pre-Inca “Creator God,” that, after the Inca conquest, they adopted into the pantheon of gods (Fernando E. Elorrieta Salazar & Edgar Elorrieta Salazar, Cusco and the Sacred Valley of the Incas, Tankar E.I.R.L, 2005 (January 1, 1656) pp83–91).

The main access route to Ollantaytambo ran across the plain of Mascabamba along the narrow valley formed in the mountains by the Urubamba River, which connects the site with Machu Picchu to the west, and with Pisaq and Cusco to the east. The first line of defense was a steep bank of terraces at Pachar, near the confluence of the Anta and Urubamba rivers. Behind it, Urubamba was channeled to make it cross the valley from right to left and back thus forming two more lines backed by the fortifications of “Choqana” on the left bank and “Inkapintay” on the right bank. Past them, at the plain of Mascabamba, eleven high terraces closed the valley between the mountains and a deep canyon formed by the Urubamba. The only way to continue was through the gate of T'iyupunku, a thick defensive wall with two narrow doorways. In the event of these fortifications were overrun, the fort at the top of the steep hill, provided a last line of defense (Jean-Pierre Protzen, Architecture and construction at Ollantaytambo, Oxford University Press, New York,1993, pp. 22–26).

The level valley below Ollantaytambo  where the present city is located; in ancient times,, this was part of the wilderness--why would they have built on the top of the hill? 

 

The main settlement at Ollantaytambo has an orthogonal layout with four longitudinal streets crossed by seven parallel ones. At the center of this grid was a large plaza that may have been up to four blocks large; it was open to the east and surrounded by halls and other town blocks on its other three sides.

The southern half of the town was uniform, with each part compromising two kancha or walled compounds with four one-room buildings around a central courtyard. Buildings in the northern half are more varied in design; however, most are in such a bad condition today that their original plan is hard to establish. A typical doorway still used in the town, using the single stone lintel is still a sign of importance.

Ollantaytambo has some of the oldest continuously occupied dwellings in South America. Its layout and buildings have been altered to different degrees by later constructions; for instance, on the southern edge of the town, an esplanade—a clear, open space between a citadel and the nearest houses, separating the fortress from a town. With the original entrance was a Plaza de Armas, or Weapons Square, and was surrounded by buildings about the plaza at the center of the town. This great plaza has now disappeared, as several buildings were built over it in colonial times (Graziano Gasparini, and Luize Margolies, Inca architecture, Indiana University Press, Bloomington Indiana, 1980, p71).

Defensive arrangement with extra high terrace walls and a single approach to the top

 

Araqhama has been continuously occupied since before colonial times and before Inca times, with the hill facing the town occupied by the terraces of Pumatallis, framed on both flanks by rock outcrops. Access to the resort at the top of the hill is by a series of stairways that climb to the top of the terrace complex—these terraces, called andenes (platforms) at Ollantaytambo were built to a higher standard than common agricultural terraces; for instance, they have higher walls made of cut stones instead of rough fieldstones. This type of high-prestige terracing is extremely difficult to climb,whereas rough fieldstones have varying surfaces that can be climbed. Such work is also found in other nearby sites, such as Pisaq and Yucay (John Hyslop, Inka settlement planning, University of Texas Press, Austin: 1990, p282-284)

At this point, the site is divided into three main areas: the Middle sector or fortified area is directly in front of the terraces; the Temple sector, to the south; and the Funerary sector, to the north.

The Temple sector is built out of cut and fitted stones in contrast to the other two sectors, which are made out of fieldstones. It is accessed by a stairway that ends on a terrace with a half-finished gate and the Enclosure of the Ten Niches, a one-room building. Behind them is an open space which hosts the Platform of the Carved Seat and two unfinished monumental walls.

In the view of archaeologists, the main structure of the whole sector is the Sun Temple, an uncompleted building which features the Wall of the Six Monoliths as well as other interesting walls, of gigantic blocks of red porphyry, crafted with masterful surfaces as if it were a soft and malleable material—in which the sides of the pieces had to be joined, moldings or protrusions appeared which could fit in the furrows of the pieces with which they were assembled.

The Middle and Funerary sectors have several rectangular buildings, some of them with two floors; also, several fountains are in the Middle sector.

The unfinished structures at the Temple Hill and the numerous stone blocks that litter the site indicate that it was still undergoing construction at the time of its abandonment. Some of the blocks show evidence of having been removed from finished walls, which provides evidence that a later people tried to remodel or tear down the structure. Which event halted construction at Ollantaytambo is unimportant—what is important is that despite visitors to the site and some scholars who have seen the hill top resort claim it was a fortress, archaeologists and anthropologists say that not only did the Inca build Ollantaytambo, it was a ceremonial site for conducting religious events: “Due to the impressive character of these terraces, the Temple Hill is commonly known as the Fortress, but this is a misnomer, as the main functions of this site were religious” (Protzen, Inca Architecture, pp73–74).

The unfinished walls, meant for the defense of the “temple” structure on top of the hill

 

However, to those who have studied this facility and its history know that on at least three occasions it is known the hill top site was used as a fortress, especially at the time of the Inca and Spanish wars nor was it built by the Inca: “it is also theorized that Ollantaytambo was the work of a much older pre-Incan culture” (David Hatcher Childress, Ancient Technology in Peru & Bolivia, Adventures Unlimited Press, Kempler, Illinois, 2012)

Since Ollantaytambo was built long before the Inca and their wars among themselves and with the Spanish, the question arises “why did the builders of this site do so on top of a high and steep hill where it would have taken enormous effort to build the rock terraces and 200-step stone stairs to the top, not including hauling tons of stone blocks for walls all the way to the top.

The answer lies in the fact that the builders of these sites were extremely fearful or deeply concerned with being attacked by more than an unknown people—but by a known enemy, a heredity enemy, who attempted to inflict great damage on these builders and their people.

Of such a hereditary enemy, Jarom, the grandson of Jacob said, “And they were exceedingly more numerous than were they of the Nephites; and they loved murder and would drink the blood of beasts. And they came many times against us, the Nephites, to battle. But our kings and our leaders were mighty men in the faith of the Lord; and they taught the people the ways of the Lord; wherefore, we withstood the Lamanites and swept them away out of our lands, and began to fortify our cities, or whatsoever place of our inheritance (Jarom 1:6-7).

Once again, Moroni “had been strengthening the armies of the Nephites, and erecting small forts, or places of resort; throwing up banks of earth round about to enclose his armies, and also building walls of stone to encircle them about, round about their cities and the borders of their lands; yea, all round about the land” (Alma 48:8).