Throwback Thursday | Wikimedia Commons by Own work
Throwback Thursday | Wikimedia Commons by Own work
From March 16, 2023 post.
It’s time for another #ThrowbackThursday! Last month, we shared a photo of the restored Great Kiva, a well-known part of the site. This month, we’re talking about an equally fascinating structure that lies just a mere two hundred feet from the northwest corner of the Aztec West great house…the Hubbard Tri-wall. This unusual structure consists of three concentric masonry walls encircling a small, enclosed kiva. Its diameter measured at sixty-four feet wide, and the walls were thought to originally have stood twelve feet high. Though the kiva is within the structure, it is not directly connected to any of the tri-walls. There is a 1-1/2-foot-wide space between the outer shell of the kiva and the inner side of the nearest wall. A ladder, like you see in the picture, was likely used to enter through its roof.
The Hubbard tri-wall was likely added to the Aztec complex sometime in the 1200s during the second renovation phase. Only ten multi-walled (double-, tri- and quad-walled) buildings of the same sort have been found in southern Colorado and northern New Mexico, one of which is at Pueblo del Arroyo in Chaco Canyon. Aztec Ruins is the only known location with more than one. In fact, there are 7 here. What might that imply? Was this type of building invented by engineers here at Aztec? Most archeologists think they were used ceremonially because they are so rare and have a central kiva. Others think their locations and relationships to other buildings made them important symbols in the ritual landscape of the settlement. These questions may never be answered. Yet, though their purpose is unclear, their uniqueness and rarity are worthy of admiration.
The Hubbard tri-wall was stabilized after excavation and has been partially backfilled as a protective measure. Visitors today can see the remnants of the upper walls of the structure, like you see in the photo. Check back next month for another Throwback Thursday!
#TriWall #Kiva #AZRU #ThrowbackThursday #FindYourPark
Image description: A comparison photo showing the excavated Hubbard Tri-wall site and the backfilled remnants of the walls as it is today. NPS Photo.
Original source can be found here.
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