ryanjlin12

 Cuzco 

only one piece of equipment that could move it, and that was the cargo cranes in
massive shipyards. On top of that, it was carved precisely into a polygonal shape
and then set into the wall. I stood there gazing at her with my mouth wide open.
Ernesto then asked me what I thought of the archaeologist’s opinions about how
the monstrosity was built.

“David, you’re an engineer. You’re the first engineer that I’ve worked with.
Most of the people I’ve worked with were white, western, archaeologists and anthropologists.
They never listened to me, or to the locals when we tried to tell them
what our ancient stories were about this sight. You aren’t white, you’re an engineer,
and you seem to have an understanding in two different systems of thought, so I
would like to know what you think about this.”

“Ernesto, let me be frank. Those guys are on crack. That’s probably what they
came here for, because I can tell you right now, any construction engineer is going
to have problems with their theories.”

The current theory is that the Incans built the wall using stones to pound them
flat, placed the stone, lifted it up again to see the impression, and repeated the
process to make it fit. I had a major problem with that theory. This was a 300 ton,
Andesite monolithic stone, and it was just one of many. Andesite is a remarkably
hard substance, which would make it a great building material, if it weren’t so
dense, hard, and heavy. The only way, to confirm that theory was to lift up the 300
ton stone, and see if there were any dismembered hands or bodies in that tight fit.
Accidents were bound to happen with that technique, and I couldn’t even get my
diving knife into the cracks.

To top it off, no sources of Andesite were located in or around Cuzco. The
Andesite was quarried in several sources, one at a source that was 35 kilometers
away, in Rumiqolqa, and another that was 100 kilometers away, in the north. So,
to present the problem, somehow, this 300 ton, Andesite monster was carved out
of a quarry, transported up the mountain side, on Incan roads that were staircases,
to the top of the mountain, carved, and set into the wall. The angle of the staircase
heading up to Sacsayhuaman was, on average, 45 to 60 degrees, and there were
several hundred meters of staircase, from the center of Cuzco, and it wound around
the mountain. Sacsayhuaman was at the top of the mountain, overlooking Cuzco.
And finally, repeat that 100 times, hope there weren’t any accidents that would kill
off the man power, and that was just for the first terrace. There are three terrace
levels.

When I thought about it, I immediately threw out the obvious. I decided to use