Inca Roads Historical Landmark Designation

WPI teamed with Ramiro

Matos of the Smithsonian

Institution to nominate the

Inca Road system as an

American Society of Civil

Engineers (ASCE)

International Historic

Civil Engineering

Landmark. The Inca Road

system, or Qhapaq Ñan, has

also been designated a

UNESCO World Heritage

Site.

The 24,000-mile-long Inca

Road system was a

masterpiece of

sustainable engineering

design. Remnants of the

road still exist in Peru,

Chile, Bolivia, Ecuador,

Columbia and Argentina.

Universidad Nacional de

San Antonio Abad del

Cusco, Peru’s Ministry of

Exterior, Peru’s Institute of

Culture, ASCE and the

Cusco Mayor’s office

organized a three-day Inca

Road celebration in Cusco,

Peru, in early November.

The celebration included

lectures and a dedication

ceremony.

Ken and Ruth Wright and

Dr. Richard Miksad were

pleased to participate.

WRIGHT

PALEOHYDROLOGICAL

INSTITUTE

Winter 2017

Wright Paleohydrological

Institute

Paleohydrology is “the study

of water use and handling

by ancient people.”

Wright Paleohydrological

Institute (WPI) is a non-

profit organization estab-

lished in 1996 for the study

of ancient water use. WPI is

a public foundation with a

proud record of public

interest activities related to

ancient water management.

Inside this issue:

Saqsaywaman

2017 Research

2

Far View

Reservoir

2

Pompeii & Mark

Twain

2

Pompeii

Planetarium

Presentations

3

Honorary

Diplomas

3

2018 Machu

Picchu and Pompeii

Calendar

3

Donation Form 4

To further the knowledge of past civilizations through the study of ancient water

management and practices.

World Monuments Fund Preservation Projects

In the World Monuments

Fund’s (WMF’s) recent

publication, World

Monuments Watch, we were

pleased to note that four

projects where we have

worked with WMF were

featured.

WWE’s Andrew Earles is the

project manager for all of

these projects. He is grateful

to Lisa Ackerman and Jeff

Allen of the World

Monuments Fund for

plugging us in to

these worthwhile

assignments.

Locations have

included Wat

Chaiwatthanaram

in Thailand, Phnom

Bakheng in

Cambodia, the

Shwe-nandaw

Kyaung Monastery

in Myanmar, and

the Ishtar Gate in

Babylon, Iraq.

Your Support in 2017 Really Matters!

with donations from $5 to $200. Ruth and Ken Wright match contributions at two to one.

WPI continues to study how ancient people dealt with water and how modern water can affect ancient

structures. Your generosity helps make this happen. You can support our public education efforts in 2017

Wat Chaiwatthanaram in Ayutthaya,

Thailand.

principal streets was a

ponderous stone tank, and a

water-spout that supplied it,

and where the tired, heated

toilers from the Campagna

used to rest their right

hands when they bent over

to put their lips to the

spout, the thick stone was

worn down to a broad

groove an inch or two deep.

Think of the countless thou-

Author Mark Twain visited

Pompeii in August of 1867

and wrote about his

experience in his book

Innocents Abroad. He wrote

about the street water

fountains in the city. Water

was provided to them

through the Aqua Augusta.

In Chapter 31 of his book,

Twain wrote “In one of the

sands of hands that had

pressed that spot in the ages

that are gone, to so reduce

a stone that is as hard as

iron!”

Wayne Lorenz reports that

these grooves are still

evident in the stones of

several of the main street

public fountains in Pompeii.

Pompeii & Mark Twain

Page 2 Wright Paleohydrological Institute

The book describes the

differences between the ridge top and valley bottom reservoirs built by the Ancestral Pueblo

people.

Far View Reservoir

Water Mysteries of Mesa

Verde lays out the facts on

Far View Reservoir that

were developed by Dr.

David Breternitz and the

WWE team.

There have been recent

speculations concerning the

purpose and function of the

site. Some are suggesting it

may have been a ball court

We are pleased that the

Mesa Verde Museum

Association is selling our

book Water Mysteries of

Mesa Verde.

The book was published in

2006. It describes the

research we conducted on

four reservoirs in Mesa

Verde and the Mug House

cistern.

because of the apparent lack

of water. However, the

field evidence that we

assembled tells a

remarkable story of ancient

water harvesting and that

shows the site was a

reservoir.

Saqsaywaman 2017 Research

Saqsaywaman wall failure.

A public fountain at Pompeii.

The research was

performed by teams focused

on seismic refraction

studies, total station

measurements and ground

penetrating radar. The result

was 3D models of the Inca

terraces that will help Peru’s

Ministry of Culture to

preserve Saqsaywaman by

returning the site’s drainage

to the conditions more

similar to those originally

designed by the Inca

engineers.

In July, an engineering team

of seven students from the

University of Virginia (UVa)

and seven students from

Universidad Nacional de

Ingeniería (UNI) conducted

research related to the

preservation of Inca walls at

Saqsaywaman for the

seventh summer running.

The UVa team was

supported by the Cotsen

Institute, UNI, the

Universidad Ricardo Palma

and the Universidad Andina

Del Cusco.

The work was led by

Professor Richard Miksad of

UVa. Fermin Díaz was the

local Director of the work.

Arminda Gibaja and Oscar

Montufar served as team

archaeologists.

Dr. Miksad and Ken Wright

will present a poster on this

topic, Saqsaywaman Wall

Failure, at the 2018 meeting

of the Institute of Andean

Studies in Berkeley.

We are happy to report that the Universidad Nacional de Ingeniería in Lima published our ASCE Press book Moray: Water Mystery of the Inca Empire in Spanish. Rector Jorge Alva arranged for the printing of 2,000 copies in Lima.

The Moray book is special because our detailed field

research there demonstrated that Moray was not an ancient Inca agricultural research lab, as many have believed, but a ceremonial/religious site.

For decades, anthropologists the world over have mischaracterized the archaeological site as a place where the Inca studied

the effects of elevations and temperature on various crops at various elevations.

However, the WWE field researchers analyzed the evidence and concluded that the long-held myth was unfounded.

Museum of Nature and Science last spring.

Using aerial satellite imagery and still photographs by Gary Witt and himself, Wayne will take audiences along the path of the ancient aqueduct that served Pompeii and the Naples Bay area.

WWE’s Wayne Lorenz will narrate a Digital Earth presentation based on his nine years of scientific research in Italy at the Fort Collins Museum of Discovery planetarium on January 25, 2018. The presentation is a repeat performance of two shows Wayne gave at the Denver

The program begins at the springs of the Apennine Mountains and then flies along the alignment of the Augustan Aqueduct, stopping at features Wayne has investigated along the way, including Pompeii and its water system. The show ends up in the large Piscina Mirabilis storage reservoir.

Moray Book Published in Spanish

Pompeii Planetarium Presentations

2018 Machu Picchu and Pompeii Calendar

The new calendar was designed by Todd Clary Creative and includes photos by Ruth Wright, Gary Witt, Wayne Lorenz and Kurt Loptien. It is the 22nd calendar that we have produced after first

obtaining a permit to study Machu Picchu in 1994.

If you did not receive a calendar or want extras, please give us a call!

Our 2018 scenic calendars have arrived! Next year’s calendar features six pages of Machu Picchu photos and six pages of Pompeii photos for the armchair traveler.

Page 3

Machu Picchu and Pompeii has received rave reviews from many supporters.

The Piscina Mirabilis water storage reservoir served

the western Roman naval

fleet with potable water.

The site of Moray was

discovered by U.S. Naval pilot Robert Shippee, who took this photo in 1931.

Honorary Diplomas

school’s civil engineering department.

Ruth and Ken Wright joined the faculty and were each awarded el

Nombramiento de Docente Extroadinario Honorario (honorary diplomas) by the university.

The Universidad Nacional de San Antonio Abad del Cusco’s celebration of the Great Inca Road System on November 7 coincided with the 100th anniversary of the

Rector Baltazar Caceres

Huambo, Ruth Wright and Ken Wright at the national university in Cusco, Peru.

To further the knowledge of past civilizations through the study of ancient water management and practices.

Visit us at wrightpaleo.com

A COPY FOR YOUR RECORDS: This is a record of my contribution to the Wright Paleohydrological Institute to further publicly oriented scientific research on water management and use of water by ancient people along with associated public educational efforts. All contributions are fully tax deductible.

AGAIN, WPI THANKS YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT Wright Paleohydrological Institute•2490 West 26th Avenue, Suite 100A•Denver, CO 80211

_______________________________________________________________

(CUT HERE)

PLEASE REMIT YOUR DONATION TO: Wright Paleohydrological Institute 2490 W. 26th Ave., Suite 100A Denver, CO 80211 Here is my contribution to the Wright Paleohydrological Institute to further publicly oriented scientific research of water management and use of water by ancient people along with associated public educational efforts. All contributions are fully tax deductible.

____________________________________________ ____________

Name Date

__________________________________________________________ Address

__________________________________________________________ Address

__________________________________________________________ Telephone/Fax

__________________________________________________________ Email

______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ ______

$5.00 $10.00 $25.00 $50.00 $100.00 $200.00 Other

______ _______ _______ _______ _______ _______ ______

$5.00 $10.00 $25.00 $50.00 $100.00 $200.00 Other

DIRECTORS

Kenneth R. Wright, President

Ruth M. Wright, Vice President

Gwen Dooley, Secretary/Treasurer Gordon F. McEwan, Public Member Richard W. Miksad, Public Member

RESEARCH ASSOCIATES

Andrew Earles Patricia K. Flood

Sally Kribs Wayne F. Lorenz

Julia Traylor Phillip Wolfram

Shaw Yu

CORRESPONDING ARCHAEOLOGIST

Arminda Gibiaja Oviedo, Arq.

CORRESPONDING MEMBERS

Mario Fernando Caller Salas Fermín Gilberto Díaz Angulo

Maria Susana Landaveri Porturas

BOULDER 1440 High St.

Boulder, CO 80304

DENVER

2490 W. 26th Ave., Ste. 100A

Denver, CO 80211

Phone: (303) 480-1700 Fax: (303) 480-1020

E-mail: wpi@wrightpaleo.com

WRIGHT

PALEOHYDROLOGICAL

INSTITUTE