The Acllahuasi (house of the chosen women) is classic Incan architecture, featuring the zigzag entrance surrounded by trapezoidal doorways, foundations of polished granite, and the living quarters of the Virgins (priestesses) of the Sun. Shortly after the Incan occupation of the site the conqueror Francisco Pizarro heard about Pachacamac while holding the Inca Atahualpa prisoner at Cajamarca (1532). He promptly sent an expedition to sack the center and seize a large amount of silver and gold, destroying the idol, along with a long history of Oracular Pilgrimage. The great religious center met its demise on the heels of the Spanish conquest wherein the Spanish chroniclers recorded the oral chronology for posterity.
