Qoricancha was the premier temple of the Inka. Begun around 1200 AD, Pachacuti (1438-1471) did a major remodel, adding gold plates to the walls and floors, life-size gold and silver statues of the gods to their individual sanctuaries, and a golden garden to a courtyard. A large golden sun was the focal point of worship to the Inti (sun).
The Spanish stripped it bare, melted the precious metals to create ingots for shipment back to Spain, destroyed much of the building, and erected a church and convent atop the site. The Dominican Convento de Santo Domingo was in turn partially destroyed by earthquakes in 1650 and 1950. During the last reconstruction some of the Inca walls exposed by the collapse of their Spanish coverings were left exposed.
The Inca were much better at constructing buildings to withstand earthquakes, so even without mortar much of the foundations date from the 13th century.
The Spanish entryway
Note the mixture of construction styles, and how much more refined the Inca’s was.
Inca foundations
Here’s a broader view of the complex.
The Convento de Santo Domingo atop the Incan foundations
For some interesting photos of the 1981 reconstruction, see the Billie Jean Isbell Andean Collection at Cornell University Library. Among the images is the following construction drawing of what the complex looked like. Note the curved wall in the upper left corresponding to the wall shown in one of the photos above.
Qoricancha drawing
According to one guide book, the building with the curved wall on its west end was the Temple of the Sun. It was over 260 feet long, 66 feet wide and 23 feet tall. It was razed to build the church.
Church of Santo Domingo
Inside there is a model which doesn’t quite match the drawing.
Model of Qoricancha in Cusco
On the other hand, it’s the walls of the Temple of the Moon, Temple of Venus and the Stars, and the Temple of Lightning that were exposed by the 1950 quake.
The walls of Coricancha inside the cloister of Santo Domingo
The workmanship of these walls is amazing. Note the even courses and the smoothness of the stones. The sun god deserved the best, and got it. As to why Inca walls have withstood earthquakes, there are several contributing factors: the walls are thicker at the base, the size of the stones decreases towards the top of the wall, and all doorways and niches are trapezoidal in shape.
Qoricancha wall
All entrance ways have a unique double trapezoidal design.
Temple Entrance
Whereas, interior doorways are not niched.
Interior doorway
As to how the Inca polished the stones, it still remains a mystery. At least there was no consensus in 1997 when PBS aired Secrets of Lost Empires:Inca on NOVA.
|
|