Machu Picchu: A Civil Engineering Marvel

For the University of Denver Water Law Review, Vol. 6, Issue 1, Fall 2002Coloradans Ken and Ruth Wright have teamed with Peruvian archeologist Alfredo Valencia to place back in working order the sixteen fountains of Machu Picchu. You can see for yourself.The Inca were master water handlers. They chose Machu Picchu as a ceremonial center because the mountains and the river spoke to them of life-giving power. The Urubamba River far below snakes triangular around the base of Machu Picchu and Huayna Picchu mountains. A saddle between these peaks cradles the temples, rock shrines, dwelling places, and agricultural terraces that dance between the clouds in early morning and emerge to sunlight by Noon.Water at the center of it all. The paleo-hydrologic studies of the Wrights and Valencia reveal how the Inca predicated the design and construction of Machu Picchu upon the flow of a spring. From high on the side of Machu Picchu Mountain, a canal brings water across an agricultural terrace to the first fountain just above the Temple of the Sun. From there, sixteen fountains splash, spout, and sing down a staircase to the Temple of the Condor. The May 2002, issue of National Geographic Magazine contains yet another map of Machu Picchu deriving from the Wright-Valencia partnership. This map shows how magnificent Machu Picchu must have looked with its thatched roofs uplifted to the condor sky. Underneath your feet at every turn is the invisible sixty-percent of Machu Picchu. In their Civil Engineering book, Ken and Alfredo describe the genius of Machu Picchu's foundational structure. The Inca edifices and agricultural terraces stand the test of time because of careful drainage and methodical trenchwork. The visible forty-percent of Machu Picchu rests on mountain bedrock and the skill of people who learned through ancestral experience how to counter earthquake and erosion's despoiling effect. Ken and Alfredo deduce from their studies that the Inca did not irrigate the agricultural terraces at Machu Picchu, though they did elsewhere. Here, the rainy season and supplemental importation of agricultural products met the needs of the small resident population and the influx of those attending rituals. The Inca ruler Pachacuti began Machu Picchu as a ceremonial retreat in A.D. 1450. It likely ceased normal operation by A.D. 1540 due to the collapse of the Inca Empire under Spanish invasion.Ken and Alfredo explain that Machu Picchu's durability stems from high quality professional workmanship:"Machu Picchu's technical planning is surely the key to the site's longevity and functionality. The Inca's careful use of hydraulic, drainage, and construction techniques ensured that the retreat was not reduced to rubble during its many years of abandonment. These techniques, combined with a strong knowledge of hydrology, were what made it a grand and operational retreat high in the most rugged of terrain." The Civil Engineering book is easily readable, yet con

Great book that goes way beyond the standard guide book fare. It inspired me to make the trip after reading it, to see first hand how the ancient Inca Empire created a complete fortified city in the sky, to trace the old Inca trails by the watchtower, the drawbrige and into the main gate with the view of city and the peak beyond. Other travel books have beautiful pictures and "where to eat and where to stay" for this citadel but very little information on how the city itself came into being and survived. City maps and commentary in the book are far better than you can get on-site. Don't leave home without it. Even if you are just an armchair traveler you will be amazed with the accomplishments of the Inca Empire.

The story of Machu Picchu is a tribute to the prehistoric Native Americans who planned and built this mystical mountaintop royal estate for Emperor Pachacuti between AD 1450 and 1540. The authors have, at last, defined for scientists and layman alike what makes Machu Picchu such a beautiful and special place: the innumerable details of Machu Picchu, when combined into a whole, create a visual and spiritual experience that is unparalleled in the New World.Properly, this book is dedicated to the young Yale explorer Hiram Bingham, John Rowe and Pat Lyons of the University of California/Berkeley, Richard Burger and Lucy Salazar of Yale University, and several others who had a hand in supporting the research work in both the United States and Peru.Ten chapters, 160 photographs, many sketches and maps, in conjunction with a detailed index, provide both the scholar and casual tourist with a description of Machu Picchu that is a must-read before leaving Cusco for the trip down the Urubamba River to see this most important archaeological ruin of the Western Hemisphere. The book is designed so that much of the story can be appreciated even if one only looks at the photographs and reads the captions; much like a National Geographic magazine.Chapter 1 explains the when, where and why of Machu Picchu along with it ancient climate. Site selection reasons are described; here you will learn why the Inca chose such a difficult site for construction and how the mountain and water played a major role in its choice. In Chapter 2, you will learn about the Inca-period planning that went into the royal estate so that it would function. For instance, based on engineering evidence, the Inca spring and canal layout details were established before the Inca Royal Residence and the Temple of the Sun locations were chosen. It is no coincidence that the one-half-mile-long canal ends near the Royal Residence and Fountain No. 1 so that the emperor would have the first use of the domestic water supply.Without the Inca Spring on the north side of Machu Picchu Mountain, there would be no archaeological ruin here. The Inca water source is described in Chapter 3. The hydrology of the spring and its flow are presented in an easy-to-understand manner; the reader will learn why the water supply is a child of the geologic faulting, upthrusts and related cracking of the granite bedrock and that the spring flow rises and falls throughout the year with a several-month lag time between the rainfall. But most of all, the chapter describes the original spring works and its water supply so that its technical significance to the Inca engineer can be fully appreciated. For water quality aficionados, a detailed water quality table of constituents is described; you will learn that the water supply of Machu Picchu was and is clear and pure.Also in Chapter 3, the remarkable recent discoveries of long lost water supplies are explained. A previously unknown extension of the Inca Trail down

A major contribution, this book is a treasure of up-to-date archaeological documentation plus analysis and interpretation of the architecture and engineering of the legendary Inca site. As scholar and frequent academic study-tour leader to Machu Picchu, I can attest to the accuracy of the authors' observations presented in a lucid text and complemented by a wealth of excellent black-and-white photographs, detailed site plans and architectural drawings. In an unusual collaborative effort, American engineer Kenneth R. Wright and Peruvian archaeologist Alfredo Valencia Zegarra join their expertise to describe with painstaking care the multiple challenges that were faced by the Inca builders including geography, site selection, engineering infrastructure, city planning, water system, drainage, agriculture, stonework, and construction methods. In addition, Gordon McEwan contributes an essential chapter on the cultural backgrounf of the Inca civilization; and Ruth M. Wright's "Walking Tour" chapter provides a concise, clear guide for exploring the main site as well as other attractions nearby. Destined to become a classic and model study for other Inca sites, this is an invaluable resource for experts in the field and general public alike.

I expected a civil engineering perspective on one of my favorite subjects, Machu Picchu, to be at least a little dry. Machu Picchu; A Civil Engineering Marvel is anything but. The book melds technical information on a compelling topic with observations, insights and scads of breathtaking photographs. The result is a technically substantial engineering survey presented as a coffee-table book. I have read a lot of materials on Machu Picchu, yet I can't remember the last time I encountered so much new information in one place. The book explores such engineering facets of Machu Picchu as planning, hydrology, hydraulics, drainage, agriculture and construction, and demonstrates why these things are significant and interesting. Machu Picchu; A Civil Engineering Marvel breathes extra life into this basic information by providing context, analysis, archaeological perspective and even a walking guide for touring the site. Machu Picchu; A Civil Engineering Marvel has application, understandability and appeal for such diverse individuals as anthropologists, archaeologists, travelers, scenery-lovers and historians, as well as engineers. Machu Picchu buffs like myself will certainly enjoy the book's refreshing, new angle.