PLATEAU OF CAXAMAECA. 409 



century, the thirst for gold accelerated the work of destruc- 

 tion, for, with the view of discovering hidden treasures, walls 

 were demolished and the foundations of buildings reck- 

 lessly undermined. The Inca's palace is situated on a hill 

 of porphyry, which was originally cut and hollowed out from 

 the surface, completely through the rock, so that the latter 

 surrounds the main building like a wall. Portions of the 

 ruins have been converted to the purposes of a town jail and a 

 Municipal Hall (Casa del Cabildo). The most curious parts 

 of these ruins, wlu'ch however are not more than between 13 

 and 16 feet in height, are those opposite to the monastery 

 of San Francisco. These vestiges, like the remains of the 

 dwelling of the Caciques, consist of finely-hewn blocks of free- 

 stone, two or three feet long, laid one upon another without 

 cement, as in the Inca-Pilca, or fortress of the Canar, in the 

 high plain of Quito. 



In the porphyritic rock there is a shaft which once led to 

 subterraneous chambers and into a gallery, (by miners called 

 a stoll,) from which, it is alleged, there was a communication 

 with the other porphyritic rocks already mentioned; those 

 situated at Santa Polonia. These arrangements bear evidence 

 of having been made as precautions against the events of 

 war, and for the security of flight. The burying of treasure 

 was a custom very generally practised among the Peruvians 

 in former times ; and subterraneous chambers still exist be- 

 neath many private dwellings in Caxamarca. 



We were shown some steps cut in the rock, and the foot- 

 bath used by the Inca (el lavatorio de los pies]. The operation 

 of washing the sovereign's feet was performed amidst tedious 

 court ceremonies (13). Several lateral structures, which, 

 according to tradition, were allotted to the attendants of tbe 

 Inca, are built some of free-stone with gable roofs, and others 

 of regularly shaped bricks, alternating with layers of siliceous 

 cement. The buildings constructed in this last-mentioned 

 style, to which the Peruvians give ihe name of Muros y obra 



