Balcony House, Mesa Verde National Park, CO
Posted by: 
94RedRover
N 37° 09.694 W 108° 27.866
12S E 725146 N 4115806
Balcony House, in Mesa Verde Park, is one of the more difficult to get to ruins...but for the glimpse at the life of the ancestral people, it is worth every effort...
Waymark Code: WM3C0P
Location: Colorado, United States
Date Posted: 03/12/2008
Views: 58
A $3.00 guided tour is required to gain access to the Balcony House. From Mesa Top Ruin Road, it isn't visible, as it is snuggled in the cliff below you. The Balcony House is believed to have been inhabited much later than som eof the other ruins, and it's claim to fame may have been a strong spring that provided ample water to its residents. The stream was so plentiful, the park system actually has redirected it away from the dwelling, as the underwater spring was eating away at the foundation. This was in an effort to preserve what was still here.
There ia evidence however, that the structure changed dramatically towards the end of it's inhabitation. Getting down to the dwelling, one is immediately faced with a wall that was put up blocking good entrance to the rest of the dwelling. The distinct outline of a doorway and large windows being bricked up stare right at you. The only way in is through a 12 foot tunnel, that even a child would have to crawl to get through. This would easily allow anyone protecting the site to be able to strike whoever came through easily and effectively.
Was this bricked up entrance for protection...or was this a stronghold for the precious water source?
The living area itself has all the amenities the people needed, multi living quarters, kivas, storage, etc. The ranger pointed out in his tour, one of the rooms, where almost 1,000 years later, painted murals still stand out. They depict the surrounding mountain ranges.
Wanna get back up to the mesa top? Don't worry. You do not have to climb up the cliff wall with your fingertips, as the original inhabitants obviously did. There is now a 32 foot ladder to climb up. It shakes, it's high up...just don't look down...
Construction of this dwelling began around 1100 AD, and by 1300 AD was left abandoned. Why? That is a whole other mystery.
Type of Pictograph: Rock Painting
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