Marcahuamachuco: the next Machu Picchu?

[Judi Lynn]

Marcahuamachuco: the next Machu Picchu?
By Roberto Cortijo, Agence France-Presse
Posted at 11/27/2011 12:05 PM | Updated as of 11/27/2011 12:06 PM

LIMA, Peru - Marcahuamachuco, an enigmatic 1,600-year-old archeological complex built from stone in the northern Peruvian Andes, is emerging bit by bit from oblivion and could become a beacon of tourism on the scale of Machu Picchu.

Spread over 590 acres (240 hectares) on a plateau more than 12,000 feet (3,700 meters) high in the mountains, the pre-Incan site embodies all the evils that have befallen Peru's archeological treasures.

Though still full of mysteries -- who lived here, and why, is unknown -- the complex has been plundered of artifacts that might help unlock its secrets, and has long been subjected to the depredations of nature.

But it's still there, groups of sometimes monumental stone building, massive rounded walls that rise 10 to 15 meters (yards), galleries, a rectangular plaza and dwellings, and an urban religious center with a sanctuary.

More:
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/lifestyle/11/27/11/marcahuamachuco-next-machu-picchu

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Marcahuamachuco