There are ancient cities of the jungle, which, although they have been open for a long time, have not been able to understand their mysteries. The secrets of Machu Picchu, despite the fact that the city was open more than a century ago, were never solved. The scale of the city, its location, architecture - everything is surrounded by an aura of mystery, which prevents the uninitiated from penetrating the secret of Machu Picchu.
According to modern ideas, this city was once a sanctuary. It is located 112 km from the ancient Inca city of Cuzco, at an altitude of over 2300 m above the Urubamba River. The conventional wisdom passed on to tourists says that the discoverer of Machu Picchu was the American explorer Hiram Bingham, who discovered it in 1911. But in fact, this is not true. Dear Hiram Bingham did not discover a new ancient city in the jungle - in fact, it was known to the locals for a long time - he was the first to describe it.
"Machu Picchu" can be translated as "ancient peak". Opposite the city, on the opposite bank of the Urubamba, is the second mountain - Huayana Picchu. Both of them rise up from the misty Urubamba valley, and are separated by the river, the sound of the current of which is heard even at the top of Machu Picchu. Scientists have called the city "a majestic hymn in stone." It is truly an impregnable fortress, “home of the sun god”. No one can say for sure what is the true age of the city and its first name.
The Chronicle of the Spanish Conquerors tells that the soldier Miguel Rufino saved an Indian girl from violence by killing his comrade with a sword. After that, he had to flee with her, and after a day's difficult journey, she brought him to the sacred city of solar virgins. Miguel Rufino further described two mountain peaks in the middle of the forest, which are separated by a turbulent river. There is no doubt that he ended up in Machu Picchu. The noble hero and his rescued beloved took an oath that they would abide by the laws of the Incas and keep information about the holy city a secret. They settled in the destroyed palace of Machu Picchu and lived there for a whole year.
Speaking of this jungle city, it should be said that 92 buildings rise on artificial terraces. This complex is 800 m long and 500 m wide, plus numerous agricultural terraces. This masterpiece of engineering is also striking in that the city is completely invisible from the Urubamba Valley. The building materials were blue and green granite and volcanic rock.
Three different architectural styles are immediately apparent: low walls of agricultural terraces, similar to those erected today by the Indians; powerful walls of the Incas with multifaceted hewn stones very tightly fitted to each other and ancient multi-ton megaliths. It is on the latter that everything else is based. These are the remains of the same mysterious city in which the Spanish soldier Miguel Rufino escaped with his beloved.
It is undeniable that representatives of a small ethnic group that escaped from the Spaniards lived together with the Incas in Machu Picchu. But these people, of course, were not the builders of the city. For this they simply would not have had enough time, not to mention the technological capabilities. In terms of planning and architecture, Machu Picchu is the embodiment of the work of one generation, but it was built on the rubble of much more ancient structures of the megalithic civilization. The “Lost City of the Incas” had existed for thousands of years when the Spanish conquistadors came to it.
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The contrast in styles between megalithic structures and Inca buildings is obvious. There is a building in Machu Picchu, which in our time is called the Tsar's Mausoleum. It is carved into a solid rock, and even the seven steps that rise to the mausoleum are made of stones. This structure in the shape of a horse's hoof was the main temple of Machu Picchu. The royal mausoleum rises above three mighty boulders, split off from a single rock. These blocks are twice the height of the walls, later erected on them by the Incas. The upper part is the result of the works of the Incas, the two lower parts are representatives of the ancient megalithic civilization, who, in fact, built Machu Picchu.
Of particular note is the structure called the Watchtower. The structure includes a semicircular wall, which the Incas built around an already standing megalithic structure, for some unknown reason without touching it. Today there is no explanation for what this Watchtower was intended for: it is the secret of Machu Picchu.
Interesting is the opinion of the Incas themselves regarding the history of their origin. They reckon her from the progenitor called Manco Capac, the son of the sun god. It is he who, according to legend, is the founder of their state. Manco Capac brought up the ignorant inhabitants of the Andes, introduced them to the rules of growing plants, with the methods of laying irrigation canals. He also taught how to build temples, as well as mathematics and astronomy.
Another secret of Machu Picchu is the megalith, called the sun stone. He is the most admired, he is most often photographed. Its name sounds like "Intihuatana". Narrow stone steps rise to it, and the winding Urubamba River can be seen deep below to the left. Intihuatana is carved out of gigantic rock. The sunstone harmoniously merges with the earth into one whole, and rushing into the sky, causes deep reflections in everyone who looks at it. He is like a dumb witness to the use of technology incomprehensible to us. Its edges are oriented with extreme precision to all four cardinal directions. The diagonal passing through it divides the sky into two equal parts and accurately indicates the beginning of spring on a small stone window on the upper edge of the mountain peak. The sun rises exactly in this niche. The word "Intihuatana" in translation means "the place where the sun lingers."
Astronomers from Arizona State University visited Machu Picchu to check the original points of the mysterious stone. We can only say with confidence that the pre-Incan tribes known today were completely unable to build a megalithic city of such a grandiose scale on the steep mountain slopes on their own.
From ancient civilizations to our time, in general, few products have survived. Almost nothing is known, for example, about furniture, since wood would not have survived such cataclysms. However, modern craftsmen have learned to do such things at a high level. Embroidery Two Angels, presented on the Chik Chik portal, is a vivid confirmation. In this direction, technologies of the XXI century have achieved impressive results, but much more is still a mystery to us.
The Spanish chronicler Cristobal de Molina tells that they had teachers: two sons of the creator god Viracocha. The sons of God taught the inhabitants of Machu Picchu the art of carving and transporting stones, as well as the intricacies of astronomy. Later, however, the inhabitants of the Earth disappointed them, because they began to worship idols. They informed their father about this, as a result of which lightning and fire fell on the ungrateful and ignorant disciples. However, the South American Father God promised to return one day. From that time on, the Incas watched the heavens closely. Any changes in the movement of celestial bodies were carefully recorded. And the hope for the return of God remained in their hearts.