Moray and the Salt Mines of Maras

[purplecat]

We had a "free" day in Cusco, but there were some suggestions of activities that our guide could organise for us. Two other people in the group were interested in seeing the Moray Ruins and the Salt Mines of Maras and we were happy to tag along and make the excursion cheaper.

Moray was the first Inca Plant laboratory we encountered. As noted previously, it wasn't quite clear to us why it earned the status of laboratory.




At Moray the terraces end in a circle at the bottom. This has drainage beneath into which the rain soaks.


These were the steps up the terraces. It wasn't obvious we could climb these at Moray, but B. climbed similar ones at Sayacmarca.

There was a second circle at Moray currently under reconstruction/repair.



The Salt Mines are not actually mines, but a salt extraction plant that predates the arrival of the Spanish and which are still worked today. Mineral rich water from the mountains comes in and fills clay lined pools. The water then evaporates and the salt is collected. They are owned by 300 families and there were people working them - flattening the clay lining - when we visited. I bought salt.








This is the channel bringing water into the pools.


Here you can see the channel taking the water between the pools.




These are the people setting new clay in the pools.

Comments

[spiralsheep]

Fascinating. Thank you!

[purplecat]

The salt mines were really unlike anything I've seen anywhere else.

[spiralsheep]

Yeah, most salt ponds are by the sea or along rivers so tend to be on flatter land, and even then some people resort to active evaporation tech. You need a certain combination of available salts and potential evaporation, and a dense enough population to require mass production, which probably aren't common features of human habitation (and where they might have existed have been out-performed by transport systems in recent history).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Vallesaladoanana.jpg

[purplecat]

I guess it's another side effect of having had a civilisation high up in the mountains.

[spiralsheep]

Yes, evaporation through sudden intense cold is why South Americans invented freeze drying as a method of food storage. Having access to evaporation by both heat and cold would make any evaporation based tech worthwhile developing.

[chainmailmaiden]

Ooh that is interesting about the salt mines. I did buy several bags of salt both times when I was there, but never actually saw the mines!

[purplecat]

I mean, obviously, broadly speaking salt is salt but it was nice to see it being produced.

[turlough]

Both these places look absolutely fascinating! That those salt "mines" have been in use for so many thousands of years really proves how vital salt is.