Tucked in the mountains and just outside Sedona in the Verde Valley is the site where cliff dwellers once lived known as Montezuma Castle. This six story dwelling with its 45 rooms is remarkably well preserved but seriously deteriorating. It was built by the Southern Sinagua people in the 12th century using limestone, a soft material causing varying breakage over time. Sinagua is Spanish for “without water”. Historians can only speculate that they build so high in the rocky cliffs because the spot offered protection from the desert elements. They cleverly wedged their lodgings in the rock, 100 feet above Oak Creek, which runs through the red rocks of Sedona and used as their water source. The Sinagua people were hunters, gatherers and artisans. They made their own stone tools and used the red rock materials that surrounded them for their pottery. The Montezuma Castle Sinagua lived in their rock high-rise apartments for over 400 years before disappearing mysteriously.
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| Spirit bird watching the place? |
