Today we visited Montezuma Castle and Montezuma Well. The Castle and the nearby Well were named after the Aztec king, Montezuma, by early American settlers who assumed the structures they found there were Aztec in origin. Later research revealed that the Southern Sinagua (seen-aw-gwa) peoples had built this five-story, 20-room dwelling 100 feet above the valley, sometime between 1100 and 1300, and then left the area in the 1300’s, some 150 years before the Aztec king was even born.
We enjoyed a most informative talk at the Castle and learned that the Sinagua people of the area were highly intelligent when it came to planning and engineering their community. In fact, it was the women who decided how the structures should be built, and the men did the heavy lifting. They built this amazing structure into the cliff face so they would be up above any flooding from the river, protected from wildlife, and they could make full use of the fertile valley floor for their crops. It was built in a recess about 35’ deep, using the rock overhang as a natural roof. The outer wall faced south so that, in the winter when the sun was low in the sky, the wall would absorb the sun’s heat and keep the rooms warm. Then, in the summer, when the sun was much higher in the sky, the wall was protected from the sun by the overhang, and so the walls stayed cool and kept the inside cool. Being built under the natural overhang has been a major factor in keeping it preserved so well. While the exterior wall has had a new layer of plaster applied in places, everything behind that outer wall is original.
A short distance west, at a cliff base, is Castle A. Now badly deteriorated, it was once a 5-story apartment-like building with about 45 rooms. The front wall was destroyed in a fire and the structure eventually collapsed in on itself. This is where archaeologists found most of the artifacts in this area, buried under the rubble of the walls. Most artifacts in Montezuma Castle were destroyed or taken away by early visitors, before President Roosevelt had it declared a national monument and the general public could no longer climb up to the site.
We enjoyed a most informative talk at the Castle and learned that the Sinagua people of the area were highly intelligent when it came to planning and engineering their community. In fact, it was the women who decided how the structures should be built, and the men did the heavy lifting. They built this amazing structure into the cliff face so they would be up above any flooding from the river, protected from wildlife, and they could make full use of the fertile valley floor for their crops. It was built in a recess about 35’ deep, using the rock overhang as a natural roof. The outer wall faced south so that, in the winter when the sun was low in the sky, the wall would absorb the sun’s heat and keep the rooms warm. Then, in the summer, when the sun was much higher in the sky, the wall was protected from the sun by the overhang, and so the walls stayed cool and kept the inside cool. Being built under the natural overhang has been a major factor in keeping it preserved so well. While the exterior wall has had a new layer of plaster applied in places, everything behind that outer wall is original.
A short distance west, at a cliff base, is Castle A. Now badly deteriorated, it was once a 5-story apartment-like building with about 45 rooms. The front wall was destroyed in a fire and the structure eventually collapsed in on itself. This is where archaeologists found most of the artifacts in this area, buried under the rubble of the walls. Most artifacts in Montezuma Castle were destroyed or taken away by early visitors, before President Roosevelt had it declared a national monument and the general public could no longer climb up to the site.
Montezuma Well is about 10 miles away from the Castle, and is a limestone sink formed centuries ago. It too has some dwellings built into the walls, dating back to about 1050, as well as ruins of pueblos built close by. The well was a source of irrigation for the Sinagua who lived here, and there are still traces of the irrigation ditches they built to water their crops. Portions of the Sinagua canal are still in use today. Over 1.4 million gallons of water still flows daily through two underground springs.
On our way back to camp, we decided to stop in and check out the casino across the highway. When we checked in at the RV park, we were each given a voucher for $10 of slot play at the casino, and upon signing up for our casino memberships, were given another $10 each. You can’t just cash it out, you have to play until you use it up, but you can cash out your winnings. When we were done, we had about $25, between the two of us, to put in our pockets. So we treated ourselves to the dinner buffet.
Quiet evening for Robin up at the main building with his computer. He went up there because I had to take part in a council meeting via speaker phone, so not such a quiet and relaxing evening for me. One and a half hours is a long time to sit with your cell phone smushed up against the side of your head. A drink was definitely what the doctor ordered once I was done.
Until next time dear followers, what is another word for 'thesaurus'?
Quiet evening for Robin up at the main building with his computer. He went up there because I had to take part in a council meeting via speaker phone, so not such a quiet and relaxing evening for me. One and a half hours is a long time to sit with your cell phone smushed up against the side of your head. A drink was definitely what the doctor ordered once I was done.
Until next time dear followers, what is another word for 'thesaurus'?