Vilcashuamán

Vilcashuaman, meaning 'sacred falcon' in Quechua, was a major Inca administrative center built under Tupac Yupanqui and Huayna Capac on the former Chanca capital in Ayacucho, Peru. The complex features a vast trapezoidal plaza that held 20,000 people, a Sun Temple, and the Ushnu -- a five-tiered pyramid throne with a gold-plated stone seat for the Inca ruler. It served as a key garrison housing 30,000 soldiers and a waypoint on the Qhapaq Nan royal road. Spanish conquistadors built the Church of San Juan Bautista atop the Sun Temple, preserving much of the Inca stonework beneath colonial architecture.