One of the great
pyramids, called the "Temple of the Sun," is 812 feet long by 470 wide,
and 150 high. These vast structures have been ruined for centuries, but
still the work of excavation is going on.
One of the centres of the ancient Quichua civilization was around Lake
Titicaca. The buildings here, as throughout Peru, were all constructed
of hewn stone, and had doors and windows with posts, sills, and
thresholds of stone.
At Cuelap, in Northern Peru, remarkable ruins were found. "They consist
of a wall of wrought stones 3600 feet long, 560 broad, and 150 high,
constituting a solid mass with a level summit. On this mass was another
600 feet long, 500 broad, and 150 high," making an aggregate height of
three hundred feet! In it were rooms and cells which were used as tombs.
Very ancient ruins, showing remains of large and remarkable edifices,
were found near Huamanga, and described by Cieca de Leon. The native
traditions said this city was built "by bearded white men, who came
there long before the time of the Incas, and established a settlement."
"The Peruvians made large use of aqueducts, which they built with
notable skill, using hewn stones and cement, and making them very
substantial.
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