Ollantaytambo
The Incan town of Ollantaytambo is located in southern Peru, slightly to the north of Cuzco. It functioned as the private estate of Emperor Pachacuti. The town was destroyed when Pachacuti conquered it, and when he returned from his conquests, he rebuilt the town better than it was before. When he died, control was shifted to his family. During the Spanish Conquest, it briefly served as the Capitol of the Incan Empire, after Cusco fell. When it was the capitol of the Incan empire it was heavily fortified the town. After a few minor victories over the Spanish, the Incan withdrew to the even more fortified town of Vilcabamba.
The battle in which Ollantaytambo was made famous ( to the Incans at least), was against the Spanish in 1537. The conquer Hernando Pizarro had a hundred troops, and began marching directly at the Sun Temple on Temple Hill. Pizarro is quoted as saying, “We found it so well fortified that it was a thing of horror.” The leader of the Incans, Manco Inca, had archers, rock throwers, and people rolling boulders down the terraces. When the Incan had won the battle, and the Spanish turned to flee, he flooded the plains bellow Temple Hill with the Rio Urubamba, there were few survivors.
Main Features
The defensive features of Ollantaytambo made it almost ideal for the Incans. It is surrounded by mountains, and there are limited access roads connecting the town to Machu Picchu and Pisaq. There were steep banks of terraces on the eastern side. Behind the terraces, there is a river that the Incans channeled back and forth across the valley. There was only one clear way through, and the Incans built a thick wall there, with two small doors.
Temple Hill is the steep Hill where the Incan built their ceremonial center. The part facing the town has terraces. The main sacrificial building is built out of fitted stones. The site is thought to be incomplete, due to the stones littered across the site, and the quarry a few miles away. The quarry has rose rhyolite, which matches the stones that are incorporated in the temple hill building.
The town of Ollantaytambo is laid out in a very organized way, that showed preplanning. It has a crisscrossed pattern of streets, similar to that of our town, and has a main square. Dating from the 15th century, Ollantaytambo has some of the oldest continuously occupied residences in South America.
The terraces in Ollantaytambo are built to a higher standard than most other Incan sites, and they are on par with other royal estates. The Incan used terraces very extensively, due to their mountain living conditions. The terraces, typically used to farm on hillsides, had other purposes in Ollantaytambo. They created different climate zones at different altitudes, even going as far as to dig terraces down into the ground at the bottom. This allowed the production of crops that were typically infeasible at the altitudes where they were being grown. They also had defensive purposes that were discussed earlier.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ollantaytambo
http://www.moon.com/destinations/peru/the-sacred-valley/ollantaytambo/history
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