Royal Foundry House

Colonial Structure No. 4

Built between 1528-1544, this structure features a construction system consisting of adobe brick walls and talpuja earth plaster, with a roof made of clay tiles. Its current area is 831 square meters.

Initially constructed with earth walls and a thatched roof, it suffered two fires (in 1528 and 1523), and in 1544 it was reconstructed with brick walls and clay tiles.

This building was used for melting and weighing gold, with a fifth part extracted from each ingot, which was sent to the Spanish crown. Additionally, it housed the "box of the three keys" containing the king's seal or lion, which was used to mark the gold. It was also known as the "House of Howls" due to the effects of the hot iron with which the encomenderos marked the faces of the indigenous slaves, causing intense screams of pain.