MACHU PICCHU'S URBAN SECTOR
THE DRY MOAT
Between the agricultural and urban sectors lies a great Dry Moat, that served to protect the Citadel of Machu Picchu. As mentioned, the Citadel was the place of residence of the Inca and his panaca, the royal family, the nobility, the priests, etc. Thus the need of safety precautions for wartime, such as the Moat, is simply a reflection of Inca architectural planning concerns.
South of the Temple of the Three Windows, there is a small group of very interesting buildings. Two of them are wayranas, with only three walls, but sharing a central wall that acts as a divider. Instead of a front wall, there was a column supporting the roof beams. In this complex there are also some other rooms that have the same careful finish, with carved stones that seem to be altars. One of the most fascinating and puzzling sectors of Machu Picchu is that of the Cóndor, located southwest of the Mortar Stones. The Temple of the Condor is labyrinthine, and at its lowest point there is a granite outcrop carved to represent an Andean Condor. Around this carving, there are two large rocks shaped like wings. This was obviously a sacred place, built with the purpose of worshipping the Apu Kuntur (the Condor-god).
It should be pointed out that the Condor was one of the three sacred animals in Inca society, together with the Puma (cougar or mountain lion) and the Snake. Therefore, the presence of this sculpture is strictly religious in nature. The Condor was, and still is, a special divinity in the Andean mountain regions, so these carvings had a purpose of worship. However, today's inhabitants of the small Andean villages in Peruvian mountain regions where ancestral customs are still kept annually hold a festivity called Yawar Fiesta or the Festivity of the Blood (see the chapter on the Andean Condor).
On this occasion, the Condor was worshipped. On the other hand, some other authors say that this place was the prison of Machu Picchu, because this place housed pumas and possibly snakes also, so that those sentenced to death would be killed by the wild animals and, finally, eaten by birds of prey and carrion-eaters, among them the Condor.
Two kinds of extreme punishment are thought to have existed. That is why the niches with small cavities in their doors over the Condor's left wing could have been used to tie the hands of the victims. Moreover, the higher niches in the back wall could have been used for another cruel punishment. The victims could have been closed into them, facing upward and breathing and having food and water through the small openings at the top. In Inca times, this sector was an adjunct to the Temple of the Condor, and due to its features must have been used for ritual purposes, and not as a "prison", although that is what it is called today.
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