Megaliths

I am crazy for megaliths.  So what are they?  A megalith is a large stone that has been used to construct a prehistoric structure or monument, either alone or together with other stones.  Here is an excellent article from Wikipedia on megaliths all around the world.  I have seen many, and they always fascinate me because of the mystery of their age and how they were moved and arranged.  On this trip we visited several megalithic sites, including Ollantaytambo, Sacsayhuaman and Machu Picchu, which I will address in another post.  

I have also come to believe that some of  the very fine megalithic structures in Peru were constructed by a pre Inca society and the Incas just appropriated these sites.   The methods of moving these multi ton stones, carving them and putting them together had been lost by the time the Incas arrived.  I also think that these sites are much older than it is said that they are.  You can reference a book by Mark Carlotto entitled “Before Atlantis, New Evidence of a Previous Technological Civilization” for his research on this. 

According to Carlotto, the Temple of the Sun at Ollantaytambo in Peru was constructed to be in alignment with where the North Pole was about 130,000 years ago in the Bering Sea.  Most of the site was constructed using local stone, but the actual temple consists of 6 megaliths weighing over 100 tons each.  The pink granite was quarried from a nearby mountain top and brought down that mountain, over a valley and up to where they were placed.   

There are also many other pink granite megaliths on the ground there.  No one knows how these stones were transported, carved and then placed. The Temple of the Sun appears to be either unfinished or partially destroyed by some disaster.

Here are some of the intricately carved and placed stones in the walls leading up to the temple. I just love them!

Moving on, Sacsayhuaman is a site above the city of Cusco.  

These megaliths were carved out of local limestone, and some of them weigh upwards to 200 tons.  It is assumed that this site was built by the Incas as a fortress. However, there was probably a preexisting structure there when the Incas arrived. 

This is a photo of the largest monolith at the site.  Many tons!  How did they move it?  It was moved from a quarry 22 miles away.

Here is our group photo while we were there to show the size and construction of the stone walls. 

Even the streets of Cusco are lined with carefully carved and fitted stones.  Some are Inca and some are pre Inca. 

This wall is inside a restaurant in Cusco.  Luckily these walls were not torn down by the Spanish.

Here is the famous 12 cornered stone, found near the Cusco Cathedral..  How did they do that? 

On our final morning in Cusco, I wandered around taking some last minute photos, and captured these snakes and a spiral.  Who carved them, I do not know.