Machu Picchu Fortress-City

Timeline

1. c. 1420–1430Machu Picchu ridge · CuscoThe court selected the ridge above the Urubamba Valley as the site of a royal estate, conscripting tens of thousands of laborers to level terraces, build retaining walls and drainage systems, and begin laying the foundations of the core building complex.
2. c. 1430–1450Machu Picchu core site · CuscoThe Temple of the Sun, the main plaza, the royal sector, and the terraced agricultural zone were successively completed. Precise dry-stone masonry integrated the buildings with the mountain terrain, and the fortress-city became a mountain stronghold for royal vacations, sacrificial rites, and administrative activities.
3. c. 1532–1911Machu Picchu · CuscoAfter the Spanish conquest the fortress-city was gradually abandoned, and jungle cover spared it from large-scale destruction. In 1911 Bingham led a systematic expedition and brought it to world attention, making it the most internationally renowned archaeological site of Inca civilization.