Message #233507

[Paradox]

Before: Lost to the Jungle

Photograph by Hiram Bingham, National Geographic

Bingham returned to Machu Picchu in 1912 with a team to begin excavation of the site, and then briefly visited again in 1915 (pictured).

During his 1915 trip, Bingham wrote in his journal that he was shocked at how fast the jungle had grown to recover the excavated buildings.

"... nearly wept to see how it had gone back to jungle and brush," he wrote. "Only one group of buildings clear—and that occupied by six pigs! Our lovely camp site now occupied by a hut and dirt, squalor, and filth. Very little of the ruins visible. Alas, Alack-a-day!"

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Published July 22, 2011