Their capital is completely round. They call it the naval of the earth, and that's what it looks like.

In the middle was a huge temple, the centre of their faith.

The walls were plated with gold, enough to blind us.

Inside, set out on tables, golden platters for the sun to dine off.

Outside the garden, acres of gold soil planted with gold maize, entire apple trees in gold,

gold birds on the branches, gold geese and ducks, gold butterflies in the air on silver strings. And, imagine this, away in a field life-sized 20 golden

lamas grazing with their kids. The garden of the sun at Kusko. A wonder of the earth.

Look at it now.

So that was Posh boy Anando de Soto in Peter Schaffer's play, The Royal Hunt of the Sun.

Came out in 1964.

We've been hearing a lot from it.

And De Soto, in that passage, is describing one of the great wonders of the world in the early 16th century, which was Coritcantia, the temple of the sun in Cusco.

And Dominic, that is from a play.

But Peter Schaffer, I mean, he loves his research, doesn't he?

He's obviously gone to the primary sources and rework them.

It's very, very closely based on some primary sources that we're here from later in this

episode. They were written by Spanish chroniclers a few years after the fall of the Inca's.

And that sense, I mean, you did it in a sort of very clipped 1950s war film voice.

But I think generally when people perform that play,

there's a sense of wonder and awe in their voices.

Well, shall I go back and redo it?

No, no, no one wants that.

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