Pikillacta — Wari Planned Citadel Cuzco Basin
Wari (550–1100 CE) Cuzco expansion·Wari·🇵🇪 Cusco, Quispicanchi Province, Pikillacta, Lucre Basin, near Andahuaylillas, Peru
About
About Pikillacta — Wari Planned Citadel Cuzco Basin
Lucre Pikillacta excavated by McEwan 1990s, only Wari city completed, abandoned 1100. Recorded context — Period: Wari (550–1100 CE) Cuzco expansion; Culture: Wari; Field status: excavated; Materials: stone, adobe plaster, Wari tiles; Condition: preserved — park.
Why it mattersKey Wari ancient-city with stratified sequence and regional typology.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Function of enclosure
- 02Collapse cause
Theories
- 01Observatory
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 550 CE; peak 700 CE
- Period
- Wari (550–1100 CE) Cuzco expansion
- Culture
- Wari
- Purpose
- Wari planned citadel (50 ha, 700 structures) — orthogonal grid city 50 ha with 12 m double walls labelled as Wari Great Enclosure
- Rediscovered
- Modern excavation 1955
- Excavation
- Excavated
1920 excavation
Modern rediscovery and scientific excavation of Pikillacta — Wari Planned Citadel Cuzco Basin
c. 550 CE; peak 700 CE
Initial construction / first occupation at Pikillacta — Wari Planned Citadel Cuzco Basin
c. 1200 BCE major extension
Major expansion / refurbishment at Pikillacta — Wari Planned Citadel Cuzco Basin
On the ground
Structures & features
13.6170° S · 71.7040° W · 3250 m · 3 mapped features
- Pikillacta — Wari Planned Citadel Cuzco Basin — Principal Structurestructurestructure at Pikillacta — Wari Planned Citadel Cuzco Basin — primary structure13.6188° S · 71.7056° W
- Pikillacta — Wari Planned Citadel Cuzco Basin — Complex Annex 2complexcomplex at Pikillacta — Wari Planned Citadel Cuzco Basin — subsidiary complex13.6171° S · 71.7036° W
- Pikillacta — Wari Planned Citadel Cuzco Basin — Rock_Art Annex 3rock artrock art at Pikillacta — Wari Planned Citadel Cuzco Basin — hydraulic feature13.6175° S · 71.7057° W
Gallery