Note 407 — Chapter LXXX

The ruins of the Huanuco palace or temple are chiefly interesting from the six portals, one within the other, which are well preserved. There is also a species of look out, which was probably the place where the priests offered their sacrifices to the sun. The architecture of these ruins is very distinct from that of other Ynca edifices, and would appear to be of earlier date. The Indians know these ruins by the name of Auqui Huanuco. The look out is 56 paces long by 36 in width, the height of the wall five yards, and inclined inwards from the base. It rests upon two courses of round stone, about five feet high. The walls are of cut stone and terminate in a cornice, the stones being 4½ feet long and 1½ feet thick. The interior is composed of gravel and clay, and in the centre there is a large cavity, which is said to communicate with the palace by a subterranean passage. The look out is approached by a steep ramp or inclined plane, and two figures of animals are carved on either side of the entrance.

The palace is entered by six portals. On entering the first there are halls, 100 yards long by 14 wide, on either side. The walls are built of round stones mixed with clay, the doorways alone having cut stone. These doorways are 9 feet high and 4½ broad, the lintels being of a single stone, 12 feet long and 1½ thick. The jambs are of a single piece. Three yards further on is the second portal, resembling the first, with two figures carved on the upper part. This leads into a spacious court, at the other end of which are two smaller doorways in a line, leading into a smaller court, and finally there are two other portals, still smaller, and of sculptured stone. Beyond the sixth portal there are rooms with stone walls containing niches, and an aqueduct passes through one of these rooms, which is said to have been the bathing place of the Ynca. In front of the building there is a broad artificial terrace, and underneath a large court, with a receptacle for water in the centre.

The stones of which the ruins are composed were taken from a ridge about half a mile distant, and some are yet to be seen, lying cut in the quarry.