On July 24, 1911, an ancient site located in the mountains surrounding Cusco, Peru, was rediscovered by explorer Hiram Bingham nearly half a century after it was built . Since 1911, Machu Picchu has become an important tourist site due to its interesting history and mysterious abandonment. Much of Machu Picchu has been restored since its discovery to give tourists a window into what it would have been like to live there in its heyday. Machu Picchu was built by the great Inca civilization in 1450 and is believed to have been used as an imperial retreat for the Inca emperor. Historians now believe that the abrupt abandonment of Machu Picchu was the result of the Spanish conquest, but one of the reasons it is so well preserved is that the Spanish conquistadors never found it. Despite its location, just 70 kilometers from the Peruvian capital of Cusco, for almost half a century it remained a mystery to all but a few. Through advanced construction techniques, the Incas were able to control the problems inherent to Machu Picchu, and in doing so, they were able to expand Machu Picchu's infrastructure to keep the population sustainable. Historians have found Machu Picchu so fascinating because of its pristine preservation, a result of Incan building techniques. When Hiram Bingham discovered Machu Picchu in 1911, he was surprised by its magnificent construction. One of the elements of its beauty lies in its masonry. This masonry prevented damage to other ancient sites and led to the state Machu Picchu is in today. This site was preserved relatively to other Incan sites because, although the Spanish conquistadors sacked other sites, they did not find Machu Picchu and it remained unknown until Hi...... middle of paper ....../worldgeography.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1498440?terms=terraces. “Terraces at Machu Picchu. » In ABC-CLIO. Accessed February 9, 2014. http://worldgeography.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/790018?terms=machu+picchu. “Water supply and drainage at Machu Picchu. » History of water.org. Accessed February 20, 2014. http://www.waterhistory.org/histories/machu/.Annotation:Machu Picchu: A Civil Engineering Marvel By: Kenneth R. WrightSecondary sourceNon-fiction bookKenneth R. Wright is the chief engineer of Wright Water Engineers in Denver and is an expert paleo-hydrologist at Machu Picchu and Mesa VerdeThere is no biasAn interview with Kenneth R. Wright on PBS.orgSecondary source interviewKenneth R. Wright is the chief engineer at Wright Water Engineers in Denver and is an expert paleo-hydrologist at Machu Picchu and Mesa VerdeThere is no bias