Ollantaytambo: The Red Stone Blocks and the Building Layer Erased from Inca History

On a mountainside above Peru's Urubamba Valley, six pink-granite blocks stand together on Temple Hill. The tallest stands about four metres high. Its face is flattened, small joints meet along the edges, and the whole row sits on a steep slope nearly 2,800 metres above sea level. Below are terraces, water channels, and a town that is still inhabited.

Ollantaytambo carries an Inca name because Emperor Pachacuti conquered the area, rebuilt the settlement around the mid-fifteenth century, and made it a military, agricultural, and ceremonial centre. Yet Temple Hill presents another question. Six unfinished red blocks sit beside smaller walls, rougher repairs, and structures from different phases. A conquered place may have been rebuilt on an older foundation, while later history grouped every layer under the last ruling dynasty.