An immense fortified complex, built as an adjunct to the Incan capital at Cuzco, and begun some time after 1438. Thought to have functioned as a storage centre and military garrison in peacetime, it was used as a safe haven for Cuzco residents in times of danger. Its north-facing limestone walls are cyclopean and the remains of circular-plan towers are still visible. They are built on a zigzag sawtooth plan, front on to an open plaza and run for some 550 metres. The interior structures are built on three rising terraces and include storage and dwelling places, a reservoir and a sub-surface stone conduit supply system. This massive construction represents a considerable investment of labour and is thought to have taken 70 years to complete.
The Macmillan dictionary of archaeology, Ruth D. Whitehouse, 1983Copied