were here a row
of nine or ten lofty adobe piers, forty or fifty feet high! Closer
inspection, however, shows them all to be parts of the central wall of
a great temple. The wall is pierced with large doors and the spaces
between the doors are broken by niches, narrower at the top than at
the bottom. There are small holes in the doorposts for bar-holds. The
base of the great wall is about five feet thick and is of stone. The
ashlars are beautifully cut and, while not rectangular, are roughly
squared and fitted together with most exquisite care, so as to insure
their making a very firm foundation. Their surface is most attractive,
but, strange to say, there is unmistakable evidence that the builders
did not wish the stonework to show. This surface was at one time
plastered with clay, a very significant fact. The builders wanted the
wall to seem to be built entirely of adobe, yet, had the great clay
wall rested on the ground, floods and erosion might have succeeded
in undermining it. Instead, it rests securely on a beautifully built
foundation of solid masonry. Even so, the great wall does not stand
absolutely true, but leans slightly to the westward. The wall also
seems to be less weathered on the west side. Probably the prevailing
or strongest wind is from the east.

An interesting feature of the ruins is a round column about twenty
feet high--a very rare occurrence in Inca architecture. It also
is of adobe, on a stone foundation. There is only one column now
standing. In Squier's day the remains of others were to be seen,
but I could find no evidences of them. There was probably a double
row of these columns to support the stringers and tiebeams of the
roof. Apparently one end of a tiebeam rested on the circular column
and the other end was embedded in the main wall. The holes where the
tiebeams entered the wall have stone lintels.

Near the ruins of the great temple are those of other buildings, also
unique, so far as I know. The base of the party wall, decorated with
large niches, is of cut ashlars carefully laid; the middle course is of
adobe, while the upper third is of rough, uncut stones. It looks very
odd now but was originally covered with fine clay or stucco. In several
cases the plastered walls are still standing, in fairly good condition,
particularly where they have been sheltered from the weather.

The chief marvel of Racche, however, is the great adobe wall of the
temple, which is nearly fifty feet hi