Ruins of Colla towers where their nobles were buried, survive today in parts of Bolivia and near Puno, just west of [P 005 / Lake Titicaca]. They are large round towers built of blocks of stone roughly fitted together. Some of them are up to 40 feet tall, and make a strong impression on the bare landscape. There is a small hole in the eastern side of each tower, through which a person could crawl.
From the remains found in these chullpas, it is believed some personal possessions were buried with the dead to help them on their journey to the afterlife. Once the burial had taken place, the entrance was sealed.
The towers were not of the same architectural sophistication of later [G 11 / Inca] buildings, but they did probably influence Inca methods of architecture. Colla builders may have used a system of ramps in order to raise the blocks to the correct height for building, as the Inca would use later in their massive constructions.
