Sacsayhuamán · The Stone That Had to Be Moved

Sacsayhuamán stands on the high ground north of Cusco, a set of walls built from enormous stones: the largest weigh more than a hundred tonnes, cut with sharp edges and fitted into one another without a drop of mortar.

The Spanish quarried it for building stone and worked at it for centuries without finishing. In the stretch that remains, it is still impossible to see how stones of tens of tonnes were brought up the hill.

Local legend credits them to “people who could fly”, or to giants. After earthquakes this stretch is intact, while the old churches down in the city are cracked.

Historical Mysteries / Cusco · Peru / 15th century