Wato: Inca trading site with pre-Inca megalithic basalt construction discovered in highlands. Site is located 5 hours on rough roads outside Cusco Structure shows two distinct construction phases: pre-Inca megalithic basalt work (no mortar) and later Inca construction (with mortar) Inca built on top of the older megalithic foundations, embracing and incorporating the older work

Remote highland Peru holds a 5-hour rough-road journey from Cusco to a fascinating site called Wato, where researchers found two distinct construction phases: pre-Inca megalithic basalt walls fitted together without mortar, later overlaid by Inca masonry that used mortar. The Incas didn't replace the older work — they embraced it, building atop these ancient megalithic foundations. This pattern appears across Inca territory at Ollantaytambo, Saksaywaman, Machu Picchu, and Cusco. As a trading hub where trails converged connecting highland communities to the capital, Wato was abandoned when the Inca civilization fell in the mid-16th century. The megalithic stone is homogeneous volcanic basalt, while the Inca stone fractures easily with a layered appearance — two building traditions literally stacked in time.

Key Facts

  • Site is located 5 hours on rough roads outside Cusco
  • Structure shows two distinct construction phases: pre-Inca megalithic basalt work (no mortar) and later Inca construction (with mortar)
  • Inca built on top of the older megalithic foundations, embracing and incorporating the older work
  • Megalithic stone is homogeneous volcanic basalt; Inca stone fractures easily with layered appearance
  • Site was an Inca trading place where ancient trails converged connecting different parts of the highlands to Cusco
  • Site abandoned at the end of the Inca civilization in the mid-16th century
  • Pattern of Inca reusing older megalithic sites is seen at Ollantaytambo, Saksaywaman, Machu Picchu, and Cusco
  • Village is called Watkto but the Inca structures have no recorded name

Related site: Watoqto — view location, images, and history on the Ancient Nerds map.

Source: Exploration Of Ancient Watoqto In Peru by Brien Foerster