On July 24, 1911, an ancient site located in the mountains surrounding Cusco, Peru, was rediscovered by explorer Hiram Bingham nearly half a century after it was built. Since 1911 Machu Picchu has become famous as a tourist site due to its interesting history and mysterious abandonment. Much of Machu Picchu was restored after its discovery to give tourists a window into what it would have been like to live there in its heyday. Machu Picchu was built by the great Inca civilization in 1450 and is believed to have been used as an imperial retreat for the Inca emperor. Historians now believe that the abrupt abandonment of Machu Picchu was the result of the Spanish conquest, but one of the reasons it is so well preserved is that the Spanish conquistadors never found it. Despite its location, just 43 miles from the Peruvian capital of Cuzco, for nearly half a century it remained a mystery to all but a few. Through advanced building techniques the Inca were able to keep the problems inherent in Machu Picchu under control and in doing so were able to expand Machu Picchu's infrastructure to keep the population sustainable. Historians found Machu Picchu so fascinating because of its immaculate preservation, a result of Inca building techniques. When Hiram Bingham discovered Machu Picchu in 1911 he was amazed by its beautiful construction. One component of its beauty is its stonework. This stone masonry prevented the damage suffered by other sites of antiquity and led to the state Machu Picchu is in today. This site was preserved compared to other Inca sites because while the Spanish conquistadores plundered other sites they did not find Machu Picchu and it remained unknown until Hi...... middle of paper ....../worldgeography.abc- clio. com/Search/Display/1498440?terms=terraces.“Terraces at Machu Picchu.” In ABC-CLIO. Accessed February 9, 2014. http://worldgeography.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/790018?terms=machu+picchu.“Water Supply and Drainage at Machu Picchu.” WaterHistory.org. Accessed February 20, 2014. http://www.waterhistory.org/histories/machu/.Annotation:Machu Picchu: A Civil Engineering Marvel By: Kenneth R. WrightSecondary SourceNon-fiction BookKenneth R. Wright is the chief engineer of Wright Water Engineers in Denver and is an expert paleo-hydrologist at Machu Picchu and Mesa VerdeThere is no biasAn interview with Kenneth R. Wright on PBS.orgSecondary SourceInterviewKenneth R. Wright is the chief engineer of Wright Water Engineers in Denver and is a expert paleo-hydrologist in Machu Picchu and Mesa VerdeThere are no prejudices