ULLOA's voyage to south AMERICA. , 547 



were to hide the rufticity of their archite£lure under richnefs and magnificence which 

 they profufely bellowed on their edifices, whether of brick or ftone. 



The greateft part of one of thefe works is ftill exifting, near the town of Cayambe, 

 being a temple built of unbaked bricks. It ftands on an eminence of fome height ; 

 its figure is perfeftly circular, and its diameter eight toifes. Of this ftrudure nothing 

 now remains but the walls, which are in good condition ; and about two toifes and a 

 half in height, and four or five feet in thicknefs. The cement of the bricks is of the 

 fame earth with that of which they are made : and the hardnefs of them may be con- 

 ceived, from remaining fo long in a good condition expofed to the injuries of weather, 

 having no cover. 



Befides the ancient tradition that this ftrufture was one of the temples of thofe times, 

 the manner of its conftruftion countenances fuch a conjecture : for its circular form, 

 without any feparation in the infide, Ihews it to h9,ve been a place of public refort, and 

 not any habitation. The fmallnefs of the door renders it probable, that, though the 

 yncas entered into their palaces in the chairs in which they were carried, as will be feen 

 hereafter, this place they entered on foot, in token of veneration ; the dimenfions of 

 the door not admitting of any other manner. And, as I have before obferved, that 

 one of the principal temples was not far from hence, this was probably the very 

 ftrufture. 



At the extremity of the plain which runs northward from Latacunga, are ftill feen 

 the walls of a palace of the yncas of Quito j and is ftill called by its ancient name 

 Callo. At prefent it ferves for the manfion-houfe of a plantation belonging to the 

 Auguftines at Quito. If it wants the beauty and grandeur which charafterife the 

 works of the ancient Egyptians, Greeks, Romans, and other nations verfed in the fine 

 arts ; yet, if we make proper allowance for the rufticity of the Indians, and compare 

 this with their other buildings, the dignity of the prince will be abundantly confpicuous, 

 in the prodigious magnitude of the materials, and the magnificence of the ftru£lure. 

 You enter it through a paflage five or fix toifes in length, leading into a court, round 

 which are three fpacious faloons, filling the three other fides of its fquares. Each of 

 thefe faloons has feveral compartments ; and behind that which faces the entrance, are 

 feveral fmall buildings, which feem to have been offices, except one ; and this, 

 from the many divifions in it, was, in all probability, a menagerie. Though the prin* 

 cipal parts ftill continue, the ancient work is fomething disfigured, dwellings having 

 been lately built among them, and alterations made in the chief apartments. 



This palace is entirely of ftone, equal in hardnefs to flint ; and the colour almoft 

 black. They are exceedingly well cut, and joined fo curioufly, that the point of a 

 knife, or even fo much as a piece of the fineft paper cannot be put betwixt them ; fo 

 that they only ftiew the walls to be of different ftones, and not one entire compofition, 

 but no cement is perceivable. The ftones without are all of a convex figure, but at 

 the entrance of the door are plane. But there is a vifible inequality, both in the ftones 

 and in their courfes, which gives a more fmgular air to the work ; for a fmall ftone is 

 immediately followed by one large and ill-lquared, and that ''above is made to fit the 

 inequalities of the other two, and at the fame time fill up all the interftices between the 

 projisdions and irregularity of their faces ; and this in fuch perfection, that, whatfoever 

 way they are viewed, all parts appear joined with the fame exadnefs. The height of 

 thefe walls is about two toifes and a half, and about three or four feet in thicknefs. 

 The doors are about two toifes high, and their breadth at the bottom about three or 

 four feet, but run narrowing upwards, where the aperture is only two feet and a half. 

 The doors qf the palaces, where the yncas refided, were made of fuch a height, to 



4A 3 allow 



