>>11795802

(Please read from the start)

Now let’s take a quick look at: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ollantaytambo

“Ollantaytambo (Quechua: Ullantaytampu) is a town and an Inca archaeological site in southern Peru some 72 km (45 mi) by road northwest of the city of Cusco. It is located at an altitude of 2,792 m (9,160 ft) above sea level in the district of Ollantaytambo, province of Urubamba, Cusco region. During the Inca Empire, Ollantaytambo was the royal estate of Emperor Pachacuti, who conquered the region, and built the town and a ceremonial center. At the time of the Spanish conquest of Peru, it served as a stronghold for Manco Inca Yupanqui, leader of the Inca resistance. Nowadays, located in what is called the Sacred Valley of the Incas, it is an important tourist attraction on account of its Inca ruins and its location en route to one of the most common starting points for the four-day, three-night hike known as the Inca Trail.”

“History

Around the mid-15th century, the Inca emperor Pachacuti conquered and razed Ollantaytambo; the town and the nearby region were incorporated into his personal estate. The emperor rebuilt the town with sumptuous constructions and undertook extensive works of terracing and irrigation in the Urubamba Valley; the town provided lodging for the Inca nobility, while the terraces were farmed by yanakuna, retainers of the emperor. After Pachacuti's death, the estate came under the administration of his panaqa, his family clan.

[…]

In the 19th century, the Inca ruins at Ollantaytambo attracted the attention of several foreign explorers; among them, Clements Markham, Ephraim Squier, Charles Wiener, and Ernst Middendorf published accounts of their findings.

Hiram Bingham III stopped here in 1911 on his journey up the Urubamba River in search of Machu Picchu.

Description

The town of Ollantaytambo is located along the Patakancha River, close to the point where it joins the Willkanuta River. The main settlement is located on the left margin of the Patakancha with a smaller compound called 'Araqhama on the right margin. The main Inca ceremonial center is located beyond 'Araqhama on a hill called Cerro Bandolista. Several Inca structures are in the surrounding areas, and what follows is a brief description of the main sites.

Town

The main settlement at Ollantaytambo has an orthogonal layout with four longitudinal streets crossed by seven parallel streets. At the center of this grid, the Incas built 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. All blocks on the southern half of the town were built to the same design; each comprised two kancha, 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 that their original plan is hard to establish.”

>> Number 7 pops up again. And anons should remember that the Sun rises from the EAST.

• Page 511 –

>>11805491

(Please read from the start)

“Ollantaytambo dates from the late 15th century and 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 Inca esplanade with the original entrance to the town was rebuilt as a Plaza de Armas surrounded by colonial and republican buildings. The plaza at the center of the town also disappeared, as several buildings were built over it in colonial times.

'Araqhama is a western prolongation of the main settlement, across the Patakancha River; it features a large plaza, called Manyaraki, surrounded by constructions made out of adobe and semicut stones. 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. Araqhama has been continuously occupied since Inca times, as evidenced by the Roman Catholic church on the eastern side of the plaza. To the north of Manyaraki are several sanctuaries with carved stones, sculpted rock faces, and elaborate waterworks; they include the Templo de Agua and the Baño de la Ñusta.

Temple Hill

'Araqhama is bordered to the west by Cerro Bandolista, a steep hill on which the Incas built a ceremonial center. The part of the hill facing the town is occupied by the terraces of Pumatallis, framed on both flanks by rock outcrops. Due to 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. The main access to the ceremonial center is a series of stairways that climb to the top of the terrace complex. At this point, the site is divided into three main areas: the Middle sector, 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 of the Temple Hill, 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. The main structure of the whole sector is the Sun Temple, an uncompleted building which features the Wall of the Six Monoliths. The Middle and Funerary sectors have several rectangular buildings, some of them with two floors; also, several fountains are in the Middle sector.”

>> Apart the obvious presence of the monoliths what is also notable is the “UNFINISHED” construction and decoration work.

“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 major remodeling effort was also underway. Which event halted construction at the Temple Hill is unknown; likely candidates include the war of succession between Huáscar and Atahualpa, the Spanish Conquest of Peru, and the retreat of Manco Inca from Ollantaytambo to Vilcabamba. However it is also theorised that they are the work of a much older pre-incan culture.”

>> Yes, it’s obvious a remodeling was taking place as it is obvious the construction was halted for some reason. And the presence of these 6 monoliths does make one suspect the “original” construction pre-dated the Incas. See what I put in a yellow circle? This is also found in other monolithic sites (in Baalbek it looks like the Romans picked this technique up and copied it when they constructed Jupiter’s temple): it’s used to lift the blocks. We suspect it was done by a rope of some kind. But this could also have a double usage: sometimes it was used as like we saw in Tiwanaku = Clamps, grooves or stales to hold blocks together = in this case, this specific monolith could be holding a lintel = it could have a double function, depending on the case of course. And the 6 monoliths we have here, seem to have been decorated at some point with iconography, probably a geometric pattern. Which in turn, makes me wonder if they weren’t painted as well. Also notice anons how the blocks are “glued” to one another, not a razor can fit in between.

• Page 512 –