Hi guys, today I want to discuss a stunning site in Peru called Saqsawaman famed for its
remarkable giant interlocking stone walls. Each stone block has a unique irregular shape.
The blocks fit so tightly that a single piece of paper cannot fit in between them. The variety,
scale and precision of the stonework, combined with the rounded protrusions of the blocks
- have puzzled researchers for a very long time. In this video, I will lay out my hypothesis
on how these mind-boggling walls might have been constructed.
Saqsawaman is a breathtaking structure located on a steep hill overlooking the city of Cusco.
When viewing the site, the first thing you notice is the megalithic zigzag walls that
dwarf anyone standing nearby. These walls serve as retaining walls to support soil laterally.
The biggest stones weigh up to 200 tons and are up to 8.5m tall. Each stone looks custom
carved into the exact right shape so they interlock and fit securely without mortar.
The stone is not found locally and is believed to have been quarried and transported to the
hilltop. What an amazing achievement!
The Incans acknowledged that these structures existed long before their time. We can see
the real Inca work, which is the small rubble layers on top of the megaliths. Current mainstream
theory claims that the early sections of the complex were built around 1100. However, there
is no factual evidence on who built the megalithic walls let alone when and how were they constructed.
The claim of the site being built 900 years ago is speculation. The upper level of the
site was destroyed after the Spanish conquest, as the structures were dismantled and blocks
reused. The three-layered megalithic walls remained since they were simply too large
to be moved.
The stonework at Saqsawaman is so ingenious that it can’t be duplicated today. This
baffling structure has withstood earthquakes and violent disruptions without losing its
structural integrity. How did ancient workers manage to build this?
The “standard” explanation is that they used a “guess and check” method of chipping
at the blocks with hand tools, then setting the stones in place to see how each fit, lifting
them up, chipping and sculpting further and so on and so forth.
This explanation seems implausible when we consider the precision cuts, the sheer size
and weight of the blocks and the necessary labor involved in shaping, lifting and hammering
100-ton blocks into irregular forms. Hand tools cannot achieve this level of accuracy
let alone the immense scale of the work. Also without a crane, how was it possible to lift
100 and 200-ton blocks? For a society with only hand tools and no advanced engineering,
building such complicated megalithic walls seems to be mission-impossible.
Then who had the technological ability to perform such a feat? Is it possible that it
was built by an unknown advanced civilization, maybe tens of thousands of years ago?
In order to better understand how the walls were constructed, we need to study the intriguing
characteristics of the walls and blocks at Saqsawaman. A plausible explanation of the
walls’ construction needs to decipher all these characteristics.
Other than their giant sizes, precision fit and irregular shapes, these blocks are bulging
and evenly rounded. Why did the ancient workers take the extra effort to do that? Their workload
was enormous already, so why bother with carving rounded shapes?
Some blocks were shaken out of their place due to earthquakes, so we can look at the
surfaces between two adjacent blocks. They are perfectly matched 3-dimensionally and
the enjoining surfaces are not flat. The face side of the walls is finely constructed while
the opposite side is left unfinished since it joins the filler which contains rubble
and soil just like current day retaining walls. Most seams between blocks appear straight
but actually have slight curvatures. How could that be?
Some blocks have indent marks that look like stamped imprints as well as mysterious knobs,
which we have seen at many ancient megalithic sites. Some inter-corner blocks look bendable.
These characteristics have me wonder: was the stone initially soft and malleable during
construction? Were the blocks originally molded instead of carved from stone?
The local legend speaks of a liquid derived from plants that can turn the stones soft.
But I haven’t found any proof of such a magical liquid.
If the blocks were not softened by plants, could they actually have been cast like cement
or concrete?
It would be easier and more efficient if the oversized blocks were cast instead of quarried
and transported to the hilltop. An obvious benefit of pouring and casting concrete onsite
is the ability to make custom shapes, which work best as opposed to the labor-intensive
job of quarrying and cutting to fit.
I propose the following construction scenario in Saqsawaman: a sophisticated civilization
mastered the techniques of creating special cement or concrete, which had a plastic state
before it cures or hardens. Their construction could be similar to how we build a modern-day
dry stack wall, which is a masonry wall without mortar. The major difference is that instead
of choosing the ideal rocks from a pile these ancient workers used poured concrete to create
a perfect fit. After preparing the site, the base layer would have been laid out and workers
would work their way up, block by block and layer by layer. The bigger blocks and corner
stones would have been cast in molds in the exact locations they were meant to be. Smaller
blocks could be cast in molds then placed on the wall when they were in a still firm
yet pliable state, which means they kept their basic forms and had some flexibility. The
interlocking L or U-shaped blocks could come from molds or have been manipulated after
they were laid in position. Once the semi-soft blocks were laid out in horizontal rows and
vertical layers, they would be compressed from above and pushed on the sides to get
rid of any gaps and thereby ensure a tight fitting; an analogy might be squeezing play-dough
balls together. This way, the blocks fit together like a jigsaw puzzle.
The intriguing zigzag conjunction lines between blocks would have been created by setting
blocks on top of lower blocks while they were still in a plastic state.
From this photo, we see that the bigger block on top warped the lower blocks underneath
because of its weight. The blocks that cured longer would be harder and the ones that didn’t
cure as long would be softer; thus, they ended up creating various shapes and conjunction
lines as they cured together.
After that, maybe some scraping or finishing work was done around the seams and on the
surfaces. This practice would have created very tight organic seams and surfaces as we
now see at Saqsawaman. Even if the blocks came from the same mold, the compression or
manipulation of the blocks would make them adjust to various unique sizes.
Currently concrete used in construction shrinks as it cures and usually hardens after a day
when forms or molds can be removed, though the concrete will continue to cure and reach
its final strength after 28 days. There are also products like non-shrink and expanding
concrete which could expand when it cures, Quikrete is a fast-curing concrete that sets
within an hour. I think the material that these ancient builders used for the megalithic
walls could possibly have been a quick setting and expanding concrete. Only the exposed face
sides of the blocks could have room to expand, which would have led to their often bulging
and rounded appearances. The other sides would be constrained from adjoining blocks, soil
and rubble. At the gateways maybe a frame was used to prevent bulging into the door
opening to achieve flatter surfaces.
If some cast blocks expanded and drooped too much due to short curing time and gravity,
then a tool could have been used to push up the droopy blocks, hence creating the rectangular
stamp marks. Maybe the stamp marks at the block bottoms could be the remnants of an
ancient lifting device that put the blocks into position. If the pushing and compressing
of the blocks caused certain blocks to have too much material hanging over, maybe a suction
device was used to suck away the extra concrete therefore explaining why there are these protruding
knobs. The knobs could be the result of the suction. We do see the majority of knobs at
the lower portion of the blocks, where extra material would be present due to gravity.
I can’t say that all the knobs at Saqsawaman were caused by this proposed method, but it
is possible that some were caused by sucking away extra dough-like concrete if the blocks
were indeed cast.
You might think this cast stone theory far-fetched. But wait until you hear this.
In 2012, the Ministry of Culture in Peru invited a group of Russian geophysicists to perform
research on Saqsawaman. 7 specimens of the wall blocks were sent for analysis. Using
optical microscopy, microanalysis and X-ray fluorescence analysis, the researchers stated
in their preliminary report, which I provide a link to below: “Regarding the blocks’
material, we can confidently say that the process which formed them is impossible in
nature”. These experts believed Saqsawaman was built from restructured limestone powder
from a nearby quarry, “which became plastic, due to an unknown technology used by the ancient
builders”. The geophysicists said further studies are needed from geologists. I eagerly
await such future studies.
Ok, so it is possible that the stone blocks at Saqsawaman were cast with lime based concrete.
Concrete has been used as a building material for thousands of years among different cultures.
It’s strong, versatile, easily accessible in most areas, free from defects and flaws
unlike natural stone, and can be cast into almost any shape. These are excellent reasons
for why we use concrete as the main construction material today.
My next questions are these: since the Saqsawaman blocks are not one size or shape; does that
mean separate molds were needed for each one? Furthermore why didn't the ancient workers
use the same mold to make uniform-sized blocks? Wouldn’t that have been more efficient?
First of all, even with the same mold or bucket, the workers can decide whether to fill it
full or not, which would create different sized blocks. Also, adjustable or extendable
molds and concrete forms can be used as shown here. Since the material is flexible and plastic,
once laid in position, it can settle in place and fill up the voids with the bottom layer;
workers can reshape the blocks as well. As I proposed earlier, multiple play-dough like
blocks can be laid in rows and layers, then have pressure applied to insure a tight fit
between blocks. Even if the blocks are coming from the same mold, the compression and various
foundation surfaces would make the blocks adjust to different shapes.
As for why ancient workers didn’t choose uniformed blocks, I think it was because they
were using a different building method and likely prioritized structural integrity in
a seismic region.
The megalithic walls at Saqsawaman are dry stacked without mortar. Since there is no
mortar, it relies on gravity to hold the blocks together. Each block is laid with structural
integrity in mind so that the heft of the blocks ties back into the wall and holds everything
firmly together. Dry stack walls are self-draining and such walls are less likely to be damaged
from frost, subsidence, ground heave or thermal movement. A well-built dry stack wall can
be as strong as a mortared wall, yet at the same time it’s flexible enough to adapt
to its environment; a better choice than a rigid mortared wall for earthquake zones.
Our current-day mortared walls use uniformed blocks because mortar and masonry ties are
used to bind the blocks together. Dry stack walls with uniformed blocks without mortar,
metal ties or clamps won’t have the strength or integrity of interlocking polygonal walls.
To build a tall dry stack wall that survived earthquakes and destruction caused by war
requires advanced engineering knowledge with a highly skilled execution. In recent years,
uniformed interlocking precast concrete blocks started to gain popularity, but dry-stack
masonry walls are still limited to low-height retaining walls even with the Lego-like interlock
feature. I think that’s why the walls at Saqsawaman didn’t use uniformed blocks.
Also the fact that Saqsawaman is not a low wall makes this construction feat even more
impressive.
Today’s concrete tends to crack if not prepared well; also control joints and expansion joints
are used to control cracking. The man-made limestone material at Saqsawaman is of high
quality and comes from an unknown formula since most blocks didn’t crack. Therefore
it is evident that whoever built Saqsawaman had sophisticated knowledge in materials science,
structural engineering and construction.
Polygonal tight-fitting and uniquely shaped cyclopean walls are the hallmarks of megalithic
sites in Peru especially in the Cusco region and Machu Picchu. Were they all built by man-made
stone? I don’t know but I doubt it. Researchers ought to consider doing more material analysis
on such baffling sites in Machu Pichu, Ollantaytambo, Puma Punku, Tiahuananco and similar places.
This would help us obtain better insight and understanding into these magnificent structures
and the civilizations associated with them.
I know my hypothesis is far from mainstream, but I want to put it out there for criticism,
critique and consideration. If we want to unravel the mystery we need to share and exchange
our measured thoughts so we might get closer to the truth of these ancient sites.
Ok, let’s wrap it up here. Please let me know what you think of my hypothesis. I would
love to hear from you. If you like my video, please give me a thumbs up and subscribe.
I have a wide range of topics that I want to share with you. This is Curious Being,
I am Tina. Thanks for watching and see you next time!