Y A 1 E

CUZCO AND SACSAHUAMAN

BY
HIRAM BINGHAM

FROk
RECORDS t°hfe PAST
VOLUME V11I " SEPTEMBER-OCTOBER, 1909 PART V

ANCIENT INCA VASE BROUGHT FROM CUZCO BY PROF.
BINGHAM. HEIGHT 6 INCHES

RECORDS^ PAST

V0L VIH II M M PART V

BWvIONTHLY
SEPTEMBER^OCTOBER, 1909
+ + +
CUZCO AND SACSAHUAMAN
IN JANUARY, 1909, while on my return journey from the Pan-
American Scientific Congress at Santiago de Chile, it was my
privilege to be able to spend a short time in Cuzco. This ancient
capital of the Inca Empire has recently been brought several
days nearer civilization by the completion, -in the latter part of 1908,
of the Southern Railway of Peru. For the traveler who comes from
New York and desires to reach Cuzco in the easiest and quickest man
ner, it is now possible to make the journey in less than 4 weeks.' The
obvious route is by steamer from New York to Colon, thence by rail
to Panama, making connections there with one of the new express
steamers that connect the Isthmus with Peru and Chile. The traveler
may arrive at Mollendo, the ocean terminus of the Southern Railway
of Peru, in 21 days from New York. From here it is possible to reach
Cuzco by 4 days of railway travel. As there are no sleeping cars, the
nights must be spent at Arequipa, Juliaca and Checcacupe.
Arequipa deserves to be celebrated as an ideal resort for travelers.
At present it is all too little appreciated, although it has long been
known as the site of the Harvard Astronomical Observatory. Charm
ingly situated, the city has a delightful climate, an excellent hotel,
many picturesque buildings and a number of remarkable churches
and monasteries that contain some very interesting paintings dating
from the XVI century. Best of all, Arequipa is surrounded by a rare
collection of mountains that range from El Misti, the active volcano,

224 RECORDS OF THE PAST
19,000 ft. high, to snow-capped Chachani, over 20,000 ft. With the
improved steamship service of the West Coast, Arequipa will soon come
to be better appreciated.
For excursions into the interior, it is a good outfitting point.
Well stocked English warehouses offer a complete assortment of sup
plies. Their best customers are the foreign mining and civil engineers.
The second day's journey from Mollendo takes one from Are
quipa, past the warm mineral springs of Yura and the glaciers of
Chachani to Juliaca on the shores of Lake Titicaca. On the way the
road attains an altitude of 14,666 ft. at Crucero Alto, not far from
the two charming mountain lakes of Saracocha and Cachipascana.
Juliaca is only 12,550 ft. above the sea, that is to say, it is scarcely
20 ft. above the present level of Titicaca. The hotel here is good
enough in its way. At any rate, it is not so bad as to prevent onefrom
stopping off for a couple of days to visit the interesting Inca ruins of
Sillastani on the shores of Lake Umayo, 20 miles away.
At Juliaca the railroad branches, one line going south 30 miles
to Puno, whence a steamer plies across Titicaca to Guaqui in Bolivia,
connecting there with the railroad for La Paz.
The other line goes north from Juliaca to Cuzco. At first the
road crosses plains that were covered in ages past by the waters of the
great Titicaca, then it climbs slowly through the mountains of Vil-
canota, once the southern boundary of the Inca kingdom. At La Raya
the altitude is 14,150 ft. From here the descent is rapid as the line
follows the valley of the Rio Vilcanota to Sicuani, for many years the
terminal of the railroad. Twenty-five miles farther on is Checcacupe,
where one must now spend the night. A new railroad hotel offers clean
quarters. The last stage of the journey may be finished the following
morning. At the time of my visit the railroad from Checcacupe to Cuzco
had only just been completed. As the track runs along the steep side of
a valley which has an embarrassing habit of sending down avalanches
of earth and stone quite unexpectedly, the journey was a bit slow
and uncertain. The natives of the valley are fond of exaggerating its
irregularities, and said it would take several days, but I found that
my train reached Cuzco on time, notwithstanding all their prophecies
to the contrary.
The scenery during the last day's travel is the prettiest of the
whole trip. The valley rapidly narrows as it descends, and the Vilca
nota becomes a roaring torrent. At Quiquijana the train stopped near
the end of a beautiful stone bridge, a relic of Spanish colonial admin
istration. While our fellow passengers were busily buying pastry
and "chicha" (native beer that tastes like cider), we enjoyed a glimpse
of a very picturesque scene. Tiled-roof houses with white-washed
walls; the adobe tower of a long, mud-colored church; the graceful
arches of the fine old bridge, and a troop of loaded llamas looking at
the train with great big, timid eyes and inquisitive ears, while prevented

LLAMAS IN THE STREETS OF CUZCO. ON THE LEFT
RUINS OF THE CHURCH OF SAN AUGUSTINE

STREET IN CUZCO SHOWING CONDITION OF THE PAVEMENT
AND THE OPEN SEWERS

226 RECORDS OF THE PAST
from running away by a couple of peons in dirty-white felt hats and
brilliantly-colored ponchos.
From Quiquijana the road continues to follow the west bank of
the Vilcanota until it reaches the Huatanay River, where it turns
abruptly to the left and enters the lovely valley that was once the very
heart of the Inca Empire. The valley of the Huatanay is still densely
populated, as it always has been. In quick succession the train passes
the large Indian cities of Oropeza, San Geronimo, and San Sebas
tian. Suddenly we stopped in the fields and took on a group of laugh
ing Peruvian sports who used a piece of red flannel to save themselves
the trouble of going to the nearest railway station. One of the joys
of this railroad is that everybody that is anybody, flags the train
whenever he pleases. The habit interferes somewhat with the time
tables, but no one cares (except the railroad people), and it gives an
individual a great sense of his own importance to go out in front of
his house and make the train stop while he climbs on board.
A few minutes later the train pulled up at the temporary Cuzco
station, a group of small corrugated-iron buildings of very recent con
struction, which stand in a plain a quarter of a mile south of the city.
Behind Cuzco rises the Sacsahuaman hill, crowned by its famous
fortress, the most magnificent monument to the achievement of pre
historic man in America. To the west and east of the plain are the
slopes of pleasant green hills.
As one approaches the city, Cuzco is seen to be intersected by 3
little gulches or streams that rise in the hills to the north. Long streets
run parallel to these streams. An avenue of trees,- which marks the
western and most agreeable approach to the town, leads into one of the
principal streets of the best residence quarter, where Spanish houses
have almost completely obliterated all traces of Inca occupation. But
as soon as the center of the city is reached, the occasional presence of
long walls of beautifully cut stone, laid without cement, and fitted
together with the patienc*e of expert stone cutters, assure one that this
is verily the Cuzco of Pizarro, Garcilasso de la Vega, and the Spanish
chroniclers. As you ramble about the city the one distinctive feature that
separates Cuzco from all the other cities in America, is the prevalence
of these long, dark, sombre walls. When you look at a building from
a distance, it seems to be an ordinary two-story Spanish house with
a red tiled roof, wooden balconies, and white-washed adobe walls As
you come a little closer, it strikes you that the white- wash has been
worn off the lower part of the walls, but when you come closer still
you find that this portion consists of Inca stone work fresh "and
attractive and unpainted. ' ? Cl
At first sight this solid wall of masonry generally appears to be
formed of rectangular blocks, laid with remarkable precision On
closer examination, you find that there is scarcely an absolute' riX
angle m the whole wall. Each stone is slightly" irregular, but tb is

Terrace on the crest of Sacsahuaman facing Cuzco

North side of Plaza. Hill on the left is Sacsahuaman. Church half
way up the slope is near the site of the palace of the first Inca

Corner of Sacsahuaman

Looking down the line of fortifications from the terrace

228

RECORDS OF THE PAST

irregularity matches so exactly with that of the stone laid next it that
"there is no space," as was' said by the first Spanish chronicler, "for
the blade of a knife to enter." Yet no one knows exactly how many ,
hundred years ago the Incas built the wall. The result of this careful
workmanship combined with the use of dark-colored stone was to pro
duce a sombre dignity and solidity that is very impressive.
In some of the walls, the outer surfaces or faces of the stones are
perfectly flat, but in general they are slightly convex. The stones vary
in length from a few inches to several feet, although it is very rare to
find rectangular blocks more than 5 ft. long. It is sai4 by those who

A BIT OF THE WALL OF THE ANCIENT CONVENT OF THE VIRGINS
OF THE SUN, SHOWING THE BEAUTY OF THE STONE CUTTING
have traveled extensively, that the world has nothing to show in' the
way of stone cutting and fitting to surpass the skill shown in the build
ing of these walls.
The characteristics of Inca architecture are in part the same as
those of the older Egyptian ruins. Individual stones of great size ¦
doors, narrower at the top than at the bottom, and walls with a base
markedly wider than the apex so that the sloping front is a distinct
feature. Probably the same methods which the Egyptians evolved in
order to put in position large blocks of stone, too heavy to be lifted by

CUZCO AND SACSAHUAMAN

229

the hands, were employed by the Incas. They seem to have thought
nothing of placing stones weighing several tons on top of a wall 15
ft. high. The corner stones of buildings were frequently rounded off, but
there are almost no circular walls in Cuzco. The principal exception
to this is in the present Dominican Monastery, once the Temple of the
Sun, where the end of one of the buildings is rounded like the chancel
of an Episcopal church. This is, perhaps, the finest bit of stonecutting
in Cuzco, and is shown off by the Dominican Fathers with great zest.
The late E. G. Squier, who lived for some time in the Convent, and
made a minute examination of these stones, found that the sides of
contact of each stone are true radii of a double circle, and that the line
of general inclination of the wall is perfect in every block.1

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IS THE FAMOUS STONE OF 12 ANGLES WHICH WAS NOTICED BY THE
CHRONICLERS OF THE CONQUEST OF PERU '
The most interesting and most striking wall in Cuzco is that of
the palace said to have belonged to the Inca Rocca, which is composed
of very large stones of irregular size and of every conceivable shape
Although the walls of most of the ancient palaces and temples are of
nearly rectangular blocks, the stones in this wall, which has frequently
been photographed, are of all shapes and sizes, some with as many as
a dozen angles, but all fitting perfectly.
Thirty years ago when Mr. Squier was here there was no inn
and he was obliged to depend on the kindness of the local officials and
the hospitality of the monasteries. But there is now a commodious
"hotel," where meals and decent bedrooms, as good as can be expected
"Squier's Peru, page 437.
230

RECORDS OF THE PAST

in this part of the world, enable one to be fairly comfortable. Of
course the "plumbing" is conspicuous by its absence, and there is by
no means so much luxury as one finds at the new hotel in Arequipa.
However, the Incas were not a remarkably cleanly folk, and it is as
well not to expect too many of the conveniences of the XX century
when visiting a metropolis of the XV.
Opposite the hotel is the church and convent of La Merced. Its
cloisters are noted for their fine old paintings, their elaborately carved
columns, and stone arches. Its gardens are filled with flowers and
shrubs that one rarely sees outside. In the crypt beneath its altar there
.ire buried, so it is said, many heroes of the days of Spain's all-
conquering supremacy.
Not far from here is the warehouse of.Sr. Lomellini, Cuzco's
leading merchant, an Italian gentleman who, while building up an

AN ANCIENT INCA DOORWAY, MODERNIZED AND USED
AS THE ENTRANCE TO A LARGE WAREHOUSE
extensive business, has devoted himself to a study of ancient Inca civ
ilization. He has brought' himself in as close touch with it as pos
sible; the very entrance to his warehouse is a fine specimen of an
Inca doorway, while his home, half way up the side of Sacsahuaman
was once the site of the palace of Manco Capac, the first famous Inca
In his dining room he has gathered a few of the most remarkable
jars that have ever been found in the Incaic tombs. In shape and
ornamentation they are not unlike the one .here depicted While this
which came from Sr. Lomellini's collection, is only 6 in in height the
jars m his dining room are nearly 3 ft. high. He showed me further
a few elaborately carved bronze figures or idols that looked very much

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TERRACE ON THE CREST OF SACSAHUAMAN
FACING CUZCO
ENTRANCE TO THE FORTRESS OF SACSAHUAMAN
232 RECORDS OF THE PAST
as though they had been buried for centuries in the mould of a royal
mausoleum. Alas, they were "made in Germany," he told me, and
are only too faithful copies of interesting originals. Later, I found
similar specimens in Lima, where one antiquarian had the effrontery
to have 3 of the very same pattern, differing only in color, exposed
for sale in one show case.
The followers of Pizarro divided Cuzco among themselves, and
on the massive walls of the Inca palaces, built their own homes after
the manner of Spanish architecture with patios and corridors. Some
times they left the Inca wall standing to a height of 6 or 7 ft., while in
other instances it still rises to 15 or 20 ft.
It is unfortunate that the Incas did not use cement. In that case
the Spaniards would have found it so much more difficult to have
destroyed the ancient palaces, that more would have been left for the
delectation of students and travelers to-day. Under the circumstances,
however, it was a simple matter for the faithful disciples of the church
to raise temples and towers of great beauty by the simple process of
tearing down the low walled Inca palaces and using the material
according to the ideas of ecclesiastical architecture which they had
brought with them from Spain.
The most notable instance of this is in the case of the Temple of
the Sun, which was transformed into a Dominican Monastery. It
will be of interest to recall Mr. Squier's accurate description of the
building, for although written 30 years ago, the present condition
of the monastery is much as it was at the time of his visit.
"The few ignorant but amiable friars that remain of the once rich
and renowned order of Santo Domingo in Cuzco admitted me as an
honorary member of their brotherhood, gave me a cell to myself, and
permitted me, during the week I spent with them, to ransack every
portion of the church, and every nook and corner of the convent. * * *
Here a long reach of massive wall, yonder a fragment, now. a corner,
next a doorway, and anon, a terrace — through the aid of these I was
able to make up a ground plan of the ancient edifice, substantially, if
not entirely* accurate. Its length was 296 ft. ; its breadth, as nearly as
can now be determined, about 52 ft."
"The temple proper, as described by Garcilasso, and as my own
researches have proved, formed one side of a rectangular court, around
which were ranged the dependent structures mentioned by him. It
was not built, as has been universally alleged, so that its sides should
conform to the cardinal points, but these coincided in direction with
bearings of the ancient streets, which were nearly at an angle of 45
degrees with those points. Nor was its door at 'one end exactly
facing the east,' so that the rays of the sun, when it rose, 'should
shine directly on its own golden image placed on the opposite wall of
the temple.' The entrance was on the northeast side of the building,
and opened upon a square, or rather a rectangular area, called now^
as anciently, the Inti-pampa, or Field of the Sun. This is still sur
rounded by heavy walls of cut stones, sculptured all over with serpents

PART OF THE LOWER AND OUTER WALL, SACSAHUAMAN

ANOTHER PART OF THE LOWER AND OUTER
WALL, SACSAHUAMAN

234 RECORDS OF THE PAST
in relief, on which are raised the houses of the modern inhabitants.
This square was dedicated to the more solemn ceremonials of the Inca
religion, and within it none dared enter except on sacred occasions,
and then only with bare feet and uncovered heads."2
It is the western end of the Temple that is best preserved. It
was here that the wonderful gold figure of the Sun was placed.
One has to be very careful where he steps while investigating
the ancient structures for the present inhabitants are no more cleanly
or sanitary in their habits than their predecessors.
It is pathetic to see the filth and squalor that surround the walls
of the magnificent old edifices. As is well known, the Inca buildings
have few windows on the street, most of the openings being toward
the court. In order to get a good idea of them I had frequently to
penetrate backyards, where there was a striking contrast between
pigsties and beautifully cut stone work.
The streets are feebly lighted at night by kerosene lamps affixed
to the walls of the buildings by iron scroll brackets that bear the arms
of Peru. As an excuse for a sidewalk, two lines of large blocks such
as we use for street crossings, sometimes run paralled to the doors of
the houses. The burden bearers of Cuzco are llamas, burros, and Indians.
The llamas will carry only a small load in proportion to their size,
and seem to take a great deal more interest in life than the patient
donkeys who are too often loaded far beyond their strength: There
are almost no wheeled vehicles, and the stone paving of the streets is
extremely rough and unspeakably filthy. To add to the slime the
sewers are open conduits running through the middle of the narrow
streets. In the wet season they are frequently flushed by having down
pours. In the dry season they are unspeakable.
Cuzco has, in fact, long been notorious as one of the dirtiest
cities in America; and it justifies its reputation. Although one
rarely forgets to pick one's way carefully through the streets, -the
practice soon becomes a habit and does not interfere with the enjoy
ment of the brilliant colors affected by the Quichua Indians, who
form a majority of the population. Their home-made ponchos and
shawls are woven of native wool and cotton, yet though the material
may be as rare and uncommon as real alpaca, vicuna and llama wool,
the brilliant hues are unmistakably aniline. In fact, in the market
place of almost every city in the Andes, one is pretty sure to find a
native peddler whose specialty is the sale of German aniline dyes.
Perhaps the most striking part of the Cuzco Quichua' custume
is the pancake hat. It is reversible, being made of a straw disc with a
cloth-covered hole in the center. On one side, for rainy weather,
the disc is lined with coarse red flannel or some other worsted stuff!
but the dry-weather side is elaborately trimmed with tinsel and black
velvet. Likewise, the loose, baggy cloth that covers the opening in the
center is lined with velveteen on the fair-weather side and coarse
2Squier's Peru, pp. 439-441.

PART OF TLIE LOWER AND OUTER WALL
SACSAHUAMAN

LOOKING DOWN THE LINE OF FORTIFICATIONS FROM A SALIENT ANGLE
OF THE SECOND LINE

236 RECORDS OF THE PAST
woplen stuff for rain. The men's hats are slightly larger than the
women's, but otherwise the fashion seems to be alike for both sexes.
The great majority of the people of Cuzco speak only Quichua,
and pretend to understand no Spanish whatever. As a result, all the
Spanish-speaking residents learn Quichua as a matter of course. It
is not difficult for the traveler to purchase Quichua-Spanish grammars
and dictionaries. The great plaza of Cuzco, once much larger than it is now, and
the scene of many an Inca carnival, is still very picturesque. On its
east side stands the massive cathedral and its chapels, said to have
been built entirely of stones taken from Inca palaces nearby.
On the south are the beautifully carved stone towers of what was
formerly the Church of the Jesuits. Next door to the old Jesuit church
is the University, one of the oldest in America, now chiefly devoted
to the study of law and politics. Flanking these are picturesque two-
story buildings with red tiled roofs and overhanging wooden balconies
supported by a row of columns and arches. In the arcades numerous
small tradesmen display their wares.
On the west of the plaza and on the north, more two-story houses
with arcades are filled with interesting little booths. Here, and on
the stones of the plaza, are cloth merchants who have gathered their
wares from England and the Continent, besides North and South
America ; venders of pottery and Quichua toys, made in the neighbor
hood ; market gardeners with corn and potatoes ; and peddlers of every
variety of article imaginable; some protected from the rain by cloth
shelters that look as though they had been taken from the top of a
prairie schooner in the days of '49; others squatting on the rough
pavement of the plaza, their wares spread out on the skins of sheep or
llamas, exposed to wind and weather.
Over all frowns the summit of Sacsahuaman. The immediate
front of the famous hill just below the upper terraces is extremely steep.
About half way down to the city the spur broadens and flattens out.
Here the first Inca built his palace. It is on the lower continuation of
this spur between two rivulets that the later palaces and temples of
the capital'were built. To reach the great fortress the easiest way
is to take a mule and ride through the narrow streets, up the ravine
to the ancient gateway in the east side of the hill. At first sight it
might seem ridiculous not to walk, as the fortress is only 600 ft. above
the city. But Cuzco has an elevation of 11,500 ft., and hill-climbing
at this altitude is best done on mule back.
As one enters the gorge there is at first little to be seen. Then
in its narrowest and most easily defended part one comes suddenly
upon a pile of massive rocks, roughly hewn. It is the entrance to the
fortress. Huge blocks of stone 5 or 6 ft. high, slightly rounded off
and accurately fitted together, are built into a gateway 12 "ft. high
that opens into a passage defended by a wall of large boulders. This
leads to the hilltop. On the side toward the city the slope is nearly

GENERAL VIEW OF INCA CARVED SEATS
NORTH OF SACSAHUAMAN

CARVED SEATS IN OUTCROPPINGS OF ROCK
NORTH OF SACSAHUAMAN

238 T RECORDS OF THE PAST
precipitous, but approach is made even more difficult near the summit
by a series of 3 terraces each 12 or 14 ft. high. There is nothing
remarkable about them except the beautiful view of Cuzco, which one
obtains from here. It is the north side of the hill, the side away from
Cuzco, that is the chief object of interest. Here, facing the natural
approach of hostile Caras from Ecuador and savage Indians from the
Amazonian wilds, the gentle slope was rendered impregnable by mar
velous fortifications. They consist of 3 terraces faced with walls 20
ft. high, built of colossal boulders. It is said that most of the smaller
stones have been carried off for building purposes in the city. Be this
as it may, what remains is the most impressive spectacle of man's
handiwork that I have ever seen in America. Photographs absolutely
fail to do it justice, for at best they show only a few boulders, a small
part of one of the walls. If taken far enough away to show the whole
fort, the eye loses all sense of the great size of the stone units owing
to the fact that they are so much larger than any stones to which it
is accustomed. The fortifications are composed of 3 lines of re-entrant angles.
The great zigzag walls extend across the back of the hill from one
valley to another, enabling the defenders of Cuzco to successfully
repel the attack of a very large number of Indians armed with primitive
weapons such as bows and arrows, slings and spears.
There are few sights in the world more awe-inspiring than these
massive terraces. Their total length is one-third of a mile. The
lower wall has an average height of about 25 ft. The middle wall
is probably 6 ft. less. The upper wall is nearly the same height as the
middle wall.
The Incas were fond of building great terraces, but in nearly
every case that I have seen, the front line of the terrace walls is
straight, or nearly so. Here, although the walls are parallel, they
consist of entering and re-entering angles for their entire length.
Like modern fortifications, the employment of these salients enabled
the defenders to cover the entire face of the wall. The outer corner
of each salient is a conspicuously large block. One of the stones is
25 ft. high and 12 ft. in thickness. Stones 12 ft. square are not
uncommon. Next to the colossal size of the stones which the builders used
for the lower wall, the most impressive thing is the care they took to
fit the stones together so that they should stand for ages.
Of this wonderful fortress, the Inca author, Garcilasso de la
Vega, wrote in the XVI century as follows : "This was the greatest
and most superb of the edifices that the Incas raised to demonstrate
their majesty and power. Its greatness is incredible to those who have
not seen it ; and those who have seen it, and studied it with attention,
will be led not alone to imagine, but to believe, that it was reared by
enchantment — by demons, and not by men, because, of the number
and size of the stones placed in the 3 walls, which are rather cliffs

CUZCO AND SACSAHUAMAN

239

PART OF THE LOWER AND OUTER WALL
SACSAHUAMAN

than Walls, and which it is impossible to believe were cut out of quar
ries, since the Indians had neither iron nor steel wherewith to extract
or shape them. And how they were brought together is a thing equally
wonderful, since the Indians had neither carts nor oxen nor ropes
wherewith to drag them by main force. Nor were there level roads
over which to transport them, but, on the contrary, steep mountains
and abrupt declivities, to be overcome by the simple force of men.
Many of the stones were brought from 10 to 15 leagues, and especially
the stone, or rather the rock, called Saycusca, or the 'Tired Stone,'
because it never reached the structure. * * * The stones obtained
nearest were from Muyna, 5 leagues from Cuzco. It passes the power
of imagination to conceive how so many and so great stones could
be so accurately fitted together as scarcely to admit the insertion of
the point of a knife between them. Many are, indeed, so well fitted
that the joint can^ hardly be discovered. And all this is the more
wonderful as they had no squares or levels to place on the stones and
ascertain if they would fit together. How often must they have taken
up and put down the stones to ascertain if the joints were perfect!
Nor had they cranes, or pulleys, or other machinery whatever. * * *
But what is rnost marvelous of the edifice is the incredible size of the
stones, and the astonishing labor of bringing them together and
placing them."
Making allowances for XVI century superstition, one can agree
almost entirely with the Inca writer. Yet many of these stones were
undoubtedly quarried nearby. And we know that the Incas under
stood the manufacture of strong cables, for they built suspension

240 RECORDS OF THE PAST

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bridges across many of the chasms of Central Peru. By the aid of
these cables and of wooden rollers, it would have been entirely pos
sible to have dragged very large stones for a considerable distance
up inclined planes. Although they had no draft animals, llamas being
accustomed only to carrying burdens, they had thousands of patient
Quichua workmen at their disposal, whose combined efforts extended
over long lines of cables, would have been amply sufficient to have
moved even the largest of these great blocks. But when one con
siders the difficulty of fitting together two irregular boulders, both of
them weighing 8 or io tons, one's admiration for the skill of these
old builders knows no bounds.
The^modern Peruvians are very fond of speculating as to the
method which the Incas employed in making their stones fit so per
fectly. One of the favorite stories is that the Incas knew of a plant
whose juices rendered the surface of a block of stone so soft that by
rubbing two blocks together for a few moments with this magical
plant juice, the marvelous accuracy of stone fitting was easily
accomplished !
Discussion and speculation will continue indefinitely, yet one must
necessarily come to at least one conclusion. The Incas had an unlimited
amount of labor at their disposal, and time was no. object. Further
more, they were, apparently, very fond of playing the game of stone-
cutting. . f| *.#iw\
In the rolling country north of Sacsahuaman are numbers of
rocks and ledges that have been carved into fantastic seats, nooks,
and crannies by a people who seem to have taken a delight in stone
carving for an amusement. It is difficult to explain in any other way
CUZCO AND SACSAHUAMAN 241
the maze of niches and shelves, seats, and pedestals that are scattered
about on every hand. Writers are accustomed to label as "Inca
thrones every stone seat they find in the mountains of Peru But
here the ledges are carved so irregularly as almost to bewilder the
imagination. A mile away to the northeast is a great natural amphitheater
where the Incas may have gathered together in throngs on the grassy
slopes to watch games and religious festivals. It offers an attractive
field for digging, as it seems to have been entirely overlooked.
Articles of value and interest to the antiquarian are also to be
found among the possessions of almost every family in Cuzco, and
there are one or two excellent collections that are gladly offered for
the inspection of the foreign visitor. Altogether, Cuzco must be
seen to be appreciated, but being seen it will amply repay the sacrifices
of the intelligent traveler. Hiram Bingham.
Yale University, New Haven, Conn.
* + +

EXHIBIT OF THE RESULTS OF PROF. GARSTANG'S
WORK DURING 1908-09. — During the past summer Prof. Garstang
exhibited in London his finds at Abydos during the preceding winter.
Of greatest archaeological interest is the set of sealings from Shunet-
ez-Zebit (House of Dried Grapes), at Abydos, which has been called
a fort, but seems rather to have been a palace of one of the earliest
Egyptian kings. "These are all in Nile mud, and were, apparently,
spherical, instead of having the form of the yellow covers found on
the tops of wine jars. They are entirely new, none of them being
duplicates or replicas of those of the same date recovered from the
same site and from Hierakonpolis, higher up the Nile." These, when
read, will probably be of value in reconstructing the history of the II
and III dynasties. "One bears the name of Khasekhmui, 'the Rising of
the Double Sceptre/ who succeeded Perabsen, the worshipper of
Set; and another that of Niterkhet, Khasekhmui's successor. Both
were probably sons of Queen Hapenmaat or Nemaathap."
There were also in the exhibit the contents of an undisturbed
tomb of the XVIII dynasty, including a quantity of gold beads, ear
rings, and other jewels; a scribe's palette, some almost perfect alabaster
vases, and two pottery vessels representing deformed human figures.
With this burial were also a flat dish in blue glaze, decorated with a
geometrical pattern in black, almost Cretan in type, and several hard
stone vases, probably from an earlier age.
A cylinder seal of King Pepi and two bronze daggers of the XII
dynasty can be definitely dated.

THE YEAR OF OUR ERA
IN THE VII century, both the Christians and the Mohamme
dans decided to honor their founders by dating all events from
some notable year in their lives. The latter chose the year of
Mohammed's flight from Medina, and the former chose what
they supposed was the year of Christ's birth. Unhappily, they missed
the mark by 2 years, and settled upon A. D. 1, when they should have
taken B. C. 2.
The New Testament says distinctly that Jesus began to be "about
30 years of age in the 15th year of Tiberius Caesar." Roman history
tells us that Tiberius became Emperor on the death of Augustus,
viz: on the 19th of August, A. D. 14. His 15th year, therefore,
was completed on the 18th of August, A. D. 29. If, then, Christ was
born in the autumn, it would be proper to say that the 15th year
of Tiberius ended when "Jesus began to be about 30 years of age,"
and 30 years taken from A. D. 29 leaves B. C. 2 for the year of our
Era. Forty-one days after Christ was born, his parents presented
him in the Temple and offered the appointed sacrifice. Meantime
the Wise Men came from the East with costly presents, sufficient
in value to cover the expense of the trip to Egypt. After the depar
ture of His parents Herod murdered the Bethlehem infants, and died
himself at the thermal springs of Callirrhoe, in the valley of the Jordan.
The context shows that Herod died in the year B. C. 1, about 4 months
after the birth of Christ. The parents then returned to their home
in Galilee by a circuitous route.
Thus far we have been guided by the New Testament. We shall
now turn to contemporaneous history as found in the writings of
Flavius Josephus, dated in the last half of the I century.
After Titus captured Jerusalem, Josephus resided permanently in
Rome, and» Vespasian made him "Custodian of the Sacred Books" or
archives of the Romans. Hence we find among his writings many reli
able records of Roman origin, such as the surrender of Jerusalem to
Pompey in the 179th olympiad; the surrender to Herod and Sosius
in the 185th olympiad, and the battle of Actium, in the 187th olympiad.
But when Josephus wanted material relating to the life of Herod, he
naturally turned to the 124 Books of Nicolas of Damascus, "the his
toriographer of Herod." Although those books have long since been
destroyed, we are convinced that in matters of chronology Nicolas fol
lowed the system of Polybius, because Josephus, while following
Nicolas' history, declared that Hyrcanus II began to reign "in the 3d
year of the 177th olympiad," — Antq. 14. 1.2 — when the true date (by
the Varro system) was the 2nd year of the 178th olympiad. Writers
have struggled to do away with this 3 years of difference. Some have