Machu Picchu
#GS-01 World History
For Prelims
Machu Picchu
- Machu Picchu is a 15th-century Inca Citadel that stands 2,430 metres above sea level nestled between the slopes of the Andes.
- The city was built around 1450ADand it got designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1983.
- In 2007 it was named one of the New Seven Wonders of the World.
- Machu Picchu complex is made up of more than 150 buildings ranging from baths and houses to temples and sanctuaries.
- The compound contains more than 100 separate flights of stairs and most of the individual staircases were carved from one slab of stone.
- It is believed that no wheels were used to transport these rocks up the mountain even though many of the stones that were used to build the city were more than 20 kg.
- The city is divided into a lower and upper part by a large square between the farming area and the residential area.
- Yale Professor Hiram Bingham re-discovered the site in 1911 and made it famous through his book, The Lost City of the Incas.
- Structures at Machu Picchu were built using a technique called “ldquo ashlar” which meant that stones are cut to fit together without mortar.
Source “Peru closes Machu Picchu airport as nationwide protests persist”
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