Moray (Inca)
Coordinates: 13 ° 19 ′ 45.31 ″ S , 72 ° 11 ′ 47.19 ″ W.
The Inca complex Moray is a complex consisting of several terraces at different heights. It was built in three larger natural sinkholes of different depths. The sinkhole, which is over 70 meters deep and the lowest 28 meters of which are provided with terraces, is called Qechuyoq. The first seven terraces, which span approximately 15 meters, are arranged concentrically. The eighth terrace breaks out of the scheme in a north-westerly direction and widens the cultivation area on the seventh terrace. The remaining terraces follow the course of the eighth. Except for the largest depression, the systems are concentric and circular. Potatoes and barley were grown on the site until 50 years ago . The terracing and the arrangement in the round result in an overlay of the macroclimate with several different microclimates for each terrace . It is possible that Moray served the Incas as an agricultural test field to study the influence of these microclimates on plant growth.
location
Moray is embedded in a limestone plateau, which is about 3500 meters above sea level, four kilometers west of the village of Maras and 32 km northwest of Cusco , elevated above the Sagrado Valley of the Rio Urubamba . The 4100 meter high Wayñunmarka lies in the southwest of the facility .
Irrigation system
Up until 50 years ago, when the water for the water supply of Maras was diverted, the water supply of the plant was also fed from a water-bearing layer of the Wayñunmarka. The plant's irrigation system is still clearly visible today. The water entered at the southern end of the facility and is channeled into the various parts via a sophisticated canal system, which also includes an aqueduct . The canal system distributes the water in stages. The main channels, called paqcha , direct the water to the highest point of each terrace. From there, further channels distribute the water to the deepest point of each terrace in the north. Other channels try to eliminate the unwanted water loss as much as possible.
swell
John Earls - The Character of Inca and Andean Agriculture [1] (PDF; 213 kB)