Evidence of Vitrified Stonework in the Inca Vestiges of Peru

Evidence of Vitrified Stonework in the Inca Vestiges of Peru, by Jan Peter de Jong & Christopher Jordan. Copyright© Ancient Mysteries Explained and Secrets of the Sun

INTRODUCTION

Vitrified stones are simply stones that have been melted to a point where they form a glass or glaze. There is much debate in archaeological circles over the ancient examples under study for two reasons.

Firstly, few cases are known to have been tested and even if they have, there are many questions over how they were made. Glassy rocks form naturally under conditions of high temperature and pressures found in and around volcanoes. Glass or glazes are traditionally created using a furnace. Furnace or kiln examples are found on everyday objects such as glassware and ceramics. The ceramics glazes are created by pasting certain finely crushed stones, sometimes with tinctures, onto fired pots and plates. The whole is then fired to temperatures usually in excess of 1000 degrees centigrade. The difficulty with many of the curious ancient vitrified examples is that they are found on objects so large that they cannot be placed in a furnace. The vitrification process itself is quite a mystery. A team of chemists on Arthur C. Clarke’s Mysterious World subjected rock samples from 11 forts to rigorous chemical analysis. They concluded that the temperatures needed to produce the vitrification were up to 1,100°C. Simply burning the walls with wood interlaced with stone could not achieve such temperatures. Recent experiments along these lines have had virtually no success at all. There are several confirmed cases of unusual vitrified remnants from across the globe. In Europe, there are several forts and buildings with vitrified ramparts. The crude stone enclosure walls seem to have been subjected to the action of heat. No mortar has been found in any of these structures. Despite this, the rocks seem to be fused together.

This fusion is uneven throughout the various forts and even in a single wall. Some stones are only partially melted and calcined. Whilst in others their adjoining edges are fused firmly together. In many instances, pieces of rock are enveloped in a glassy enamel-like coating, which binds them into a whole. At times, the entire length of the wall presents one solid mass of vitreous substance.

It is not clear why or how the walls were vitrified. Some have argued that it was done to strengthen the wall, but the heating weakens the structure. Battle damage, as some have proposed, is unlikely to be the cause. The walls would need carefully maintained fires to ensure vitrification.

There are about fifty examples that have been discovered in Scotland. It was thought that these forts were peculiar to Scotland. However, they are also found in County Londonderry and County Cavan, in Ireland. On mainland Europe, they have been identified in Upper Lusatia, Bohemia, Silesia, Saxony and Thuringia. A further example can be found in the Ucker Lake, in Brandenburg, where the walls are formed of burnt and smelted bricks. There are also displays in several places in France, such as Châteauvieux, Péran, La Courbe, Sainte Suzanne, Puy de Gaudy and Thauron.

There are some forts that have been placed on practically infusible rock. The quartz  conglomerates of the Old Red Sandstone at Craig Phadraic and on the limestone of Dun Mac Uisneachain are good cases. Here pieces of fusible rocks were selected and carried to the top from a considerable distance. This demonstrates that the act of vitrification was deliberate.

There are many more examples from Malta, Egypt, Iraq, Sudan, South East Asia and others that are speculated to fall into the grouping. However, these have not all been subjected to scientific testing like the European cases. They simply appear to be glazed finishes on equally large objects or on walls that are impossible to fire conventionally. In many cases, it looks as if there has been the deliberate action of a great heat.

There has been much discussion about the Inca vestiges in the Peruvian Andes. It mostly revolves around whether the stones are vitrified or not. In these cases, vitrification appears to be present on different kind of stones, and seems to have been caused by deliberate action. This article will now concentrate on these Peruvian cases where there are indications of heat treatment.

The moontemple is located in the Sacsayhuaman archaeological parque. Very strange structures can be found here, including some caves, a type of altar, and heavily shining surfaces (vitrified rock) and pieces of the rock that look like they cut big parts out of the mountain as if it was a giant cheese. A snake form in the rock can be found too.

This rock is strongly vitrified with a very smooth and reflecting surface, inside of the cave.

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THE PERUVIAN CASE STUDY

The vitrified examples under study for this paper come from famous Peruvian sites, considered to belong to the Incas, in South America. To the author’s knowledge, there have been no scientific tests made on these stones. This has left the debate open to claims of unusual polishing techniques, natural degradation, lava flows and many other odd explanations.

The analysis below eliminates some of these ideas.

The vitrified stones of Peru were first brought to popular attention by Erich von Daniken in the 1970s. He saw the vitrification at Sacsayhuaman and noted it in his book Chariots of the Gods. Peruvian Alfredo Gamarra had identified this vitrification earlier. The identification and cataloging of these intriguing stones has been carried on by Alfredo’s son Jesus Gamara, and Jan Peter de Jong.

 

In Sacsayhuaman, there are many indications of the use of heat. Strange marks on the stones like the one on the right can be found; shiny, completely smooth and with another color to the rest of the rock.

Vitrification appears on different kinds of stones and structures. It is found on the perfectly fitted walls with irregular blocks.
It is also observed on walls made with regular oblong blocks. It has been spotted on mountainsides, caves and rocks in situ. The location arrangements vary as well. Some sites are surrounded or overbuilt by walls whilst others have single exposed isolated stones. There seems to have been some very adaptable ancient  technology at work. A list of vestiges where stonework seems to have been treated with this technology include; Inside the city of Cusco: the walls of Koricancha and Loreto Street, Sacsayhuaman, Kenko, Tetecaca, Templo de la Luna (or Amaru Machay), Zona X, Tambo Machay, Puca Pucara, Pisac, Ollantaytambo, Chinchero, Machu Picchu, Raqchi and in Bolivia in Tiahuanaco.

Archaeologists assume that the perfect fitting stones are the most developed style of the Incas. Regardless, there is no explanation of the shiny surfaces that can be observed.
 

These often appear on the borders where the stones join perfectly. There has been nothing other than simple geological analysis of these stones to determine what the phenomenon is. No chemical analysis is known to have been executed. It is normally assumed that these parts were simply polished by the Incas.

During many visits to the vestiges mentioned, Jesus Gamarra and Jan Peter de Jong have examined these stones with highly reflective surfaces. They have captured many of them on video. Through personal observations and analysis of the video material, they have concluded that something other than polishing must have occurred.

The material convinces in several ways. Many cases display some or all of the following qualities mentioned below. The vitrified spots show discoloration and smoothness around the particular areas. They clearly look like the stone has been melted just in those spots. A simple flashlight test was developed, which helps to identify the layers of glaze or glass. Filming was carried out at night with a flashlight beam passing through the glaze. This shows the reflection and diffraction of the light as it passes through the surface. Sacsayhuaman, Kenko and Loreto Street were all filmed at night using a flashlight or the nocturnal illumination to capture the effect.

 

This altar looks as if a layer with a metallic sheen once covered it.

source:http://blog.world-mysteries.com/science/the-pleiades-enigma/