FEWKES] RUINS OF CEMPOALAN 289 



columns, two of which are still visible at the base of the pyramid. 

 This building- was possiblj' an antechamber or gateway, a waiting- 

 room for those who took part in the ceremonies in the teniijle on the 

 pyramid. A third structure on the same base as the others is a roof- 

 less inclosure. situated in the rear side of the pyramid and extending 

 the whole width of the basal platform." 



All these buildings stood on a common platform that was slightly 

 raised above the surface of the court or plaza. The steps by which 

 one mounted to the platform are still visible. 



The accompanying illustration (plate xcvii) shows this pja-amid as 

 seen by one facing the stairway, which is continuous from the base to 

 the apex. At the foot of the stairs are seen the broken remains of 

 hollow, chimnej'-like plaster columns that once supported a roof, for- 

 merly decorated on their flat sides with stucco figures. Adjoining them 

 are fragments of the foundations of old walls of the room. Three of 

 the four pillars appear in the illustration, the missing one having been 

 broken off at its base and covered with rank vegetation and other 

 debris. The round pedestal of solid concrete seen a little to the right 

 in the foreground of the plate resembles a pillar, but is in reality an 

 altar, the remains of which stood in front of the pyramid. An exami- 

 nation of the structure of the rear and sides of the pyramid shows that 

 it had six terraces, the size of which gi-adually diminishes from the 

 base to apex, the upright walls being inclined slightly inward from the 

 perpendicular. The plaster covering the surfac-e of the lowest story 

 is somewhat more broken than that of the upper, revealing the rows 

 of rubble stones laid in the concrete which forms the interior. On the 

 left face of the pyramid, about midwa}' from each corner, a row of pits, 

 one in the surface of each ten-ace, forms a continuous series of foot 

 holes, by means of which one could ascend to the top of the pyramid 

 without making use of the main stair, a feature not found in the other 

 Cempoalan temples. 



The stairway is continuous from base to top and has a massive bal- 

 ustrade on each side, following the angle of inclination of the steps 

 except at the top, where it ends in a cubical block, the sides of which 

 are practically perpendicular. This structure, like all other parts of 

 the pyramid, is made of plaster applied to a core of water-worn stones 

 laid in concrete. 



On ascending to the spacious top or upper platform of the pyramid, 

 remnants of the temple walls are found somewhat back from the land- 

 ing of the stairs. These walls, now fallen or broken, once formed 

 three sides of a chamber, the fourth side being occupied by a door- 

 way. It would appear that formerly there were two idols in this 

 temple, the pedestal on which one of these stood being still visible to 



"Possibly the bodies of tliose sacrificed in the temple were thrown down the pyramid into this 

 inclosure. 



