{ "content": "

Machu-Picchu<\/a><\/h1>

Machu-Picchu<\/a> is a 15th-century Inca<\/a> citadel located in the Eastern-Cordillera<\/a> of southern Peru<\/a>. It is situated on a mountain ridge 2,430 meters above sea level, overlooking the Urubamba-River<\/a>. Most archaeologists believe that the site was constructed as an estate for the Inca-Empire<\/a> emperor Pachacuti<\/a>. The site is a premier example of Inca-Architecture<\/a>, characterized by its use of Ashlar<\/a> masonry, where stones are cut to fit together tightly without mortar.<\/p>

The site consists of three primary structures: the Intihuatana<\/a>, the Temple-of-the-Sun<\/a>, and the Room-of-the-Three-Windows<\/a>. According to the UNESCO World Heritage Centre<\/a>, the site was abandoned at the time of the Spanish Conquest and remained unknown to the outside world until Hiram-Bingham<\/a> introduced it to the international community in 1911. Detailed historical analysis provided by National Geographic<\/a> suggests that the site also served significant religious and astronomical functions.<\/p>