312 / 1060
Royal
Commentarie1.
XX\ZIII.
'
)
Of
the
three
Walls
which
are nioft
to
he
ad11Jired
of all
this
·work.
O
N
the other fide from
the
City,
the Hill
hath
an open prof
pea:
to the
Plainsj
and the afcent to the Fortrefs
is
fo eafie
and
wide, that an Enemy may
ea...
ftly attack it
in
a
formed and orderly Body. Wherefore they fortified
it
on that
ftde
with three
Walls,
one before the other, each
Wall
being
zoo
fathom in length,
be.
ing
made
in
the iliape of
a
half Moon, becaufe they come to join with the
fiogle
Wall, which is
towards the fide of the City.
the firft Wall which
is
to front
the power and
firfi
{hock of an Enemy, though they are all of the fame
W
or~
they
have placed the greateft of their Stones, which are of that fiuJ?endious
big–
nefs,
as
are admired by
all
that fee them. For my part
I
am of opinion that
thofe
Stones were never digged out of any Quarry, but were Joofe Rocks found in
the
Mountains, which they took and fafhioned
to
their purpofe, and laid them
as
they
cafually came to hand, fome being hollow, others rough, and others plain
and
fmooth; fome were pointed at the corners, others without; in the mending
and
plaining
of which they were not very curious, by paring or cutting offthe uneven
parts
of every Stone; but rather filled up the hollpw or vacant places with
fome
other Scone, which '
·as
as great or greater than the other, and
fo
fupplied the
ine–
qualities ofone Stone by fome other which fitted to
it;
for
it feemed
co
hav.e been
their intention
to
have compofed all the work with great Stones, and not co have
pieced
it
up with the adjun& of
Ids,
being a matter of greater State and Magni–
ficence. And this
is
what
Acoffa
9id much admire
in
the Work,, that the Stones
of the Wall
nat
~ing
cut, but w011ked without any Rule or compafs, were
yet
fo well fitted, as if they had been all pollihed; and though the ounvard fuperfi–
cies
of the Stone was rough, and not
f
mooch, but remained in
its
namral
fafhion,
yet
the jGint,
by
which it was incorporated with another , was
fo
well worked,
that nothing could be better fitted ; fo that confidering the ru!lical outlide, an<l
the artificial junCl:ures within,
it
made
in
grofs a noble and a frj.tely Fronti p'rece..
A certain Prieft, born at
Montilla,
who remained at
Peru
after I was come to
Spain>
and here he alfo returned
in
a fi1ort time after, fpeakmg of this
FortrefS,
and of the prodigious Stones, told me, that before he
faw
them he could not
be·
~ieve
the report as made of the mightine!S of them, and after he had feen them,
the Fame feemed lefs than they really were; and confidering by what power or art
they \vere laid
in
that form, he could not conclude or imagine other than that
they
·were fo difpofed by fome Enchantment or power of the Divel. And really though
the
I ndians
had been provided with all the Engines and
Arts
which are common
in our Countries, yet
frill
the difficulty
will
occur, how the Art ofMan was able
to arrive to
fo
great a work, which exceeds all the Seven Wanders of the Uni–
verfe. VVe know that to make a Wall
fo
long and broad as that of
Babyjon,
to
ereCl: a
Co!JJjfUJ
at
RhodeI,
or the Pyramids in
Egypt,
are eafily contrived and com–
pleted by the force ofmultitudes, and qu}mtities of all materials, fuch as
Brick and
Lime for making the Walls of
Bahylon,
Brafs and Copper for cafl:ing the
Coioffeu,
cones and Mortar for raifing a Pyramid ; in fine, time, and labour, and numbers
of People are able to effett and compafs any thing of this nature; but how
the
Indianf
without Engines fhould be able to
carry
and tranfport
fuch
vaft Stones or
Rocks from remote places up to the
tdp
of a
Hill,
and without Tools polifh and
fie them for a Building, is fuch a riddle as the wit of Man is not able
to
refolve,
but mufi have recourfe to Enchantments, and helps from the Devil;
in
regard
that
evil
Spirits entertained fuch familiarity \Vith that people.
Every Wall of the Rampire had its Gate about the middle, and every Gate had
its Percullls of Stone, of the length and breadth of the Gate which
{hue
it.
The
firft Gate they called
Ti11puncu,
which fignifies the Gate of Gravel, becaufe
5gU