Today we're at the huge Inca site of Ollantaytambo at the northern end of the Sacred Valley of Peru. Ollantaytambo was largely created by the Inca but it'll be clear in this video that the Inca discovered a much more ancient megalithic site and that they built around the megalithic structures. We'll also see evidence of catastrophic damage that happened here far before the time of the Inca. Now this is a purely Inca construction made for the Virgins of the Sun, who were the highest level of the feminine aspect in Inca society. This Inca building, however, has a lintel recycled from the older megalithic structures, showing that the rest of the construction is quite crude. The Inca were masters at the movement of water, which is why their agricultural expertise was so advanced, much more so than Europe at the time. As we see this other water feature that runs 365 days a year, it's actually a stream created by the Inca from one of the Andes' snow-capped mountains, so the water is freezing cold even after all this distance.

Approaching a fountain that the Inca altered, we see Inca construction with a channel in the top of superior older work. The water, freezing cold, comes down from possibly the Andy mountain called Chikong. Walking across a tiny bridge and up Inca period steps, we come to the massive agricultural terracing system constructed by the great Inca civilization. One of the massive staircases constructed by the Inca contradicts the popular belief that there was no Inca empire, but rather a confederation of states. An intriguing feature, believed to be found and altered by the Inca for a different function, cuts a little channel so that during winter solstice a shadow is cast into it. We see an Inca wall and a much older megalithic work. Some say this is a quarry of some kind, but the stone taken has not been found. Megalithic elements that have been arranged in recent times likely originated from this area. Approaching what is called the Temple of the Condor, we see Inca walls and finely hewn blocks from a much older construction, suggesting catastrophic damage of some kind.

The staircase constructed out of older blocks from the megalithic period and the Inca construction with a lintel from a megalithic structure leads to the Temple of the Sun. The Inca period water channel may be much older, channeling water from the mountain to agriculture. Walking away from the Temple of the Condor, we see another aspect of Ollantaytambo in the background where the Temple of the Sun is located. Climbing a staircase with a water channel designed by the Inca to keep people's feet dry and channel water towards agriculture, we see massive terraces built by the Inca, each at least 12 feet tall. Some are being used in an experiment to see how efficient the Inca agricultural system worked. These are some of the largest terraces or Andenes in the Inca world.

Now climbing an Inca staircase towards the Temple of the Sun, we reach a high level where we start walking on a narrow Inca staircase system and trail, eventually reaching the Temple of the Sun. The agriculture is still functioning here after hundreds, if not thousands, of years. We're at dizzying heights, looking down at the town of Oyente Tambo, showing the precipitous nature of this high area. The camera scans up towards the megalithic Temple of the Sun and more massive Inca constructions. The path gets narrower, clinging to the rock face. In the town of Ollantaytambo, we see Megalithic Temple terracing and huge megalithic blocks that were once part of the Temple of the Sun. The Inca reconstructed this wall using some of the megalithic blocks and then filling in with smaller stones. We see a megalithic block partially submerged in the ground, as if it was thrown a distance and basically buried itself, indicating that this event happened thousands upon thousands of years ago.

Approaching the Great Wall, we observe the preciseness of the work, but it's likely that the Inca reconstructed this wall with huge pieces and filler of smaller stones. A piece not in its original position likely was part of a higher structure. The precision of the flatness of the surface of a multi-ton block and the peeling surfaces, almost like skin falling off, suggest intense heat struck the surface and destabilized it. As we look down, we see massive blocks almost completely buried in the ground.

The standard story by academics is that the Inca never finished the project, but it's more likely that a cataclysm blew much of it up. Entering a gateway that is megalithic with intriguing knobs protruding from the surface and Inca repair on top, we see the bedrock, which is very unstable, and then the beautiful hard and even pink granite. One side was also a wall, as seen by the foundation pieces and three-dimensional locking in of the stone. Beautiful megalithic polygonal work and crude repair are visible, none of which has been done in modern times. The joints are almost perfect in some places, where you can't fit a human hair in the complex joinery. Cliff, an engineer, was completely blown away at what he saw. With my wife Irene there, it's time to leave Ollantaytambo, but of course, we will return many more times because there's so much still to learn at this beautiful ancient gem of Peruvian culture. I wonder where this stone once rested in its original place.

Related books at Amazon.com include "A Brief History of the Inca: From Rise Through Rain to Ruin," "Inca Before the Spanish Conquest," "Lost Ancient Technology of Peru and Bolivia," and "Aftershock: The Ancient Global Cataclysm that Erased Much of Human History."