113
The ancient citadel of the vanished Inca Empire, the city of Machu Picchu, located on a high plateau, writes Success in UA.
A team of Brazilian geologists found out why the city was built at an altitude of 2450 meters above sea level and why it was so well preserved.
The architecture of Machu Picchu has long puzzled researchers. Buildings in the city are built of stone, but without concrete or any other solutions that can hold them together. The stones of ancient buildings are so tightly fitted to each other that mortar is not needed, it is reported bbc.com.
Building a stone city on a high plateau is, at first glance, a strange decision, because the builders had to drag the stones up, and the Incas, as you know, did not use the wheel.
However, it turned out that the location of the city, on the contrary, helped in its construction.
"The location of Machu Picchu is not an accident," says geologist Rualdo Menegat from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul in Brazil. "It would be impossible to build such structures high in the mountains if there were no cracks in the rock on which the city stands."
After analyzing satellite images and data collected in the ancient city, scientists made a map of these faults. It turned out that Machu Picchu was built on a place where several tectonic faults intersect.
Two large fissures with a length of more than 100 km run from the northeast to the southwest and from the northwest to the southeast. At their intersection is Machu Picchu.
Earthquakes in the region loosened the rock, making it easier for ancient masons to cut stones into the right shape. The weakened stone did not require long processing, claims the Brazilian geologist.
The layout of the ancient city reflects the structure of the tectonic faults beneath it, the researcher says. Buildings and stairs are built so that the streets run parallel to the faults.
In addition, the geologist claims that other Inca settlements - Ollantaytambo, Pisac and Cusco - were built according to the same principles. "Each of these settlements perfectly reflects the main directions of geological faults in the area," says Menegat.
"On the example of Machu Picchu, we can see that the Inca civilization was an empire of broken stones," says the researcher.
In addition to building materials, tectonic faults helped the Incas collect water. Thaw and rainwater flowed down, into the valley, along the cracks. The Incas always knew where to collect it.
At the same time, the location of the city high in the mountains saved it from avalanches and mudflows, which often occur in this mountainous area, says the Brazilian geologist.
Another dangerous climatic factor is rain. Faults saved the city from flooding.
"Approximately two-thirds of the work on the construction of the fortress was related to the laying of underground sewers," says Menegat. - Due to faults, it was easier to build it. They also explain why the city is so well preserved," says the scientist.
