THE TEMPLE OF THE CROSS. 21 



by truncating them, after which they encased tlie exterior of the mounds with 

 stone."* 



Waldeclc gives on Plate XX of the " Monuments Anciens " an excellent 

 view of the pyramid and the temple crowning its summit, taken ft-om the main 

 entrance of the Palace. The view shows the steep ascent to the pyramid, over- 

 grown with trees and shrubbery, and near its base the simple dwelling inhabited 

 by Waldeck during his sojourn among the ruins. I introduce as Fig. 3, on the 

 following page, a copy of the temple, taken fi'om this plate. 



The horizontal dimensions of the temple already have been given — fifty feet 

 fi-ont, thirty-one feet depth. Fig. 2 represents (as restored) the front elevation 

 of the building, showing its three entrances, and Fig. 4 the ground plan, both 

 taken fi-om Stephens. " The whole ft'ont was covered with stuccoed ornaments. 

 The two outer piers contain hieroglyphics ; one of the inner piers is fallen, and 

 the other is ornamented with a figure in bas-relief, but faded and ruined.""!- The 

 interior of the building has been described to some extent, and the ground plan 

 shows its division into two corridors, running lengthwise, the back one of which 

 is divided into three rooms, that in the middle containing an oblong enclosure 

 with a wide entrance facing the principal doorway of the building. The enclo- 

 sure was surrounded with a heavy cornice or moulding of stucco, and above the 

 doorway were rich ornaments, now much defaced ; on each of the outer sides of 

 tlie doorway was a tablet of sculptured stone, both of which, however, have been 

 removed.J I shall have occasion to allude again to these tablets, which were 

 still seen in place by the early explorers. According to Stephens, the enclosure 

 measures, within, thirteen feet in length and seven in depth. Galindo states 

 expressly that the sanctuary, called by him a chapel, was covered with a flat 

 roof,§ a circumstance not mentioned by Stephens, but again alluded to by 

 Charnay. Against the back of the enclosure, and covering it almost entirely, 

 were fixed the three tablets forming the Bas-relief of the Cross. No light was 

 admitted, excepting that entering through the door. Stephens found the floor of 

 the building covered with large stones, and noticed the breaches and excava- 

 tions underneath, which Captain Del Rio had caused to be made. 



Speaking of the sanctuary, M. Charnay observes as follows : " This altar, 

 which recalls by its form the ark of the Hebrews, is a kind of covered box {une 

 espece de caisse couverie), having for an ornament a small frieze with mouldings. 

 At both extremities of this fo-ieze, high above, are displayed two wings, 

 remindina; one of the same kind of ornamentation often seen on the frontons of 



* Charnay : Cites et Kuines etc., p. 417. 

 fStephens: Central America, etc., vol. ii, p. 344. 

 tlbi(l.,p. 345. 

 § See p. 19 of this publication. 



