Machu Picchu

Because Machu Picchu was never discovered and ransacked by the Spanish Conquistadors, it is something of a time capsule. The stoneworks here show astonishing differences in quality of craftsmanship. In many places there are walls in the lower levels of the fine quality that is the hallmark of ancient Andean stoneworks. Then as the walls rise, the quality of work diminishes. The lower layers are always finer, always more precise, than those above. One gets the feeling that these are remnants of old walls that were discovered and built upon by later hands.