Intiwatana, Peru | Conservation Works to Preserve the Historic Site at Machu Picchu

 Intiwatana or Intihuatana, known as “the hitching post of the sun”, a carved rock pillar whose four corners are oriented towards the four cardinal points, part of the archaeological and historic site of Machu Picchu, iconic Incan citadel set high in the Eastern Cordillera of the Andes Mountains of southern Peru, often referred to as the “Lost City of the Incas” located in the Machu Picchu district within the Urubamba Province above the Sacred Valley where flows the Urubamba River, built in the 15th century, declared a Peruvian Historic Sanctuary in 1982 and a UNESCO World Site in 1983 is experincing conservation works to preserve its integrity.

The Ministry of Culture, through the Decentralized Directorate of Culture of Cusco, informed that on July 8 and 9, a specialized preventive conservation team started operations of presevation in three sections of support walls located on the platforms on the eastern side of the Intiwatana hill, in the "llaqta" of Machu Picchu.

These actions aim to prevent and address signs of loss of structural stability in the aforementioned platforms, which do not correspond to original structures, since they were rebuilt between 1940 and 1948.

This intervention is part of ongoing efforts to preserve the historic site and is based on the results of continuous geodynamic monitoring that has been carried out since 2015, which identified a slight detachement of the rocky outcrop adjacent to these restored segments.

It should be noted that this monitoring was reinforced with the execution of specialized studies in geology throughout the Intiwatana hill.

In order to facilitate prevention work, a section of the road adjacent to the platforms, which is part of the circuit 2, has been diverted so as not to alter the normal movement of visitors towards the “Roca Sagrada”, the Sacred Rock, sector.

For this temporary detour, a section of the path has been intervened, installing two temporary wooden stairs, as well as geoblock grids on the agricultural soil of the main square, thus allowing a safe and orderly transit of visitors.

The Decentralized Directorate of Culture of Cusco calls on the public to take cognizance of the preventive conservation work of the Intiwatana hill of Machu Picchu, which has the technical support of the competent instance of the Ministry of Culture and It should be noted that the visit of the National Archaeological Park of Machu Picchu will take place with absolute normality.

The archaeological site of Intiwatana is famous for an emblematic ritual stone associated with the astronomic clock or calendar of the Inca civilization, possibly used as a sundial that was aligned with the sun’s position during the winter solstice and ther Inca believed the stone held the sun in its place along its annual path in the sky.

The Intihuatana or Intiwatana of Machu Picchu was carved directly into the bedrock of the mountain’s summit area and it is characterized by complex surfaces, planes and angles whose purpose at this time is unknown and featuring a slightly inclined plane at its top, an upright tilts 13 degrees northward.

Link 
https://infoturlatam.com/realizaran-trabajos-de-conservacion-en-el-intiwatana-de-machupicchu/