Huaca Pucllana

Right in the middle of the city there are 1500 year old ruins surrounded by modern society. The site is only 1/3 as large as it was(mostly due to lack of government protection) but it still spans a significant plot of land in downtown Lima. The site was originally used for both religious and civic purposes and today has a fancy restaurant and is often used for conferences and concerts! They are still excavating and restoring large portions of the property while setting up for a large benefit later this week. It is an interesting juxtaposition between the very old and the new.

One of the most interesting parts of the architectural style and construction of these ruins is that it uses trapezoidal shapes throught the walls. Also the bricks are adobe and spaced with gaps between them. This construction style has resulted in the most stable, earthquake proof structure in Lima. Almost every wall here is original and has stood without any noticable damage through multiple earthquakes, including a strong one last year of over 7 on the Richter scale. They checked the walls after and despite over two minutes of shaking, the structure was solid.

Pretty impressive stuff Bob. :-)