18 



MEXICAN HISTORY AND ARCHAEOLOGY. 



strike a ridge of mountains in the district of Misantla, about thirty miles from the 

 well known and beautiful town of Jalapa, we encounter a precipitous elevation, 

 near the Cerro of Estillero, on whose narrow strip of table-land the remains of an 

 extensive town were discovered in 1835. It is described as perfectly isolated. 

 Steep rocks and ravines surround the mountain, and beyond these precipices there 

 is a lofty wall of hills from the summit of which the sea is visible. As the moun- 

 tain plain is approached, the traveller discovers a broken wall of massive stones 

 united by a weak cement, which seems to have constituted the boundary or fortifi- 

 cation of a circular area or open space, in whose centre a pyramid, with three 

 stages (but without any mixture of vertical lines in the shape), rises to a height of 

 eighty feet, having a base of forty feet, on two sides, by forty-nine on the tVo others. 

 Beyond the encircling wall are the remains of the town, extending northward for 

 nearly three miles along the table-land. The stone foundations — large, square, and 

 massive — are still distinguishable, and the lines of the streets may be traced in 

 blocks, about 300 yards from each other. Some of the walls of these edifices are 

 still standing, in broken masses, at a height of three or four feet from the ground. 

 South of the town are the fragments of a low wall, evidently intended for defence 

 in that quarter; while, north of it, there is a tongue of land, jutting out towards 

 the precipitous edge of the mountain, the centre of which is occupied by a mound, 

 supposed by explorers to have been the cemetery of the ancient inhabitants. 

 Twelve tombs, built of stone, and a number of carved figures, vases, and utensils 

 were exhumed; but the images and minor objects were taken to Vera Cruz, and all 

 trace of them has unfortunately been lost. 1 



In November, 1843, further east of these remains, Don Jose Maria Esteva found 

 in a thick forest, about three miles and a half from the Puente Nacional or national 

 bridge, the interesting remains of architecture which had been first visited in 1819 

 or '20 by a clergyman named Cabeca de Vaca. The temple or teocalli seems to be 

 an exceedingly steep pyramid of steps, the base of which is shaped as follows : 



It is elevated on a mount about one hundred and fifty feet above the level of a 

 stream which flows at its feet; and, in consequence of the inequality of the 

 ground, is thirty-three Spanish feet high on some of its sides and forty-two on 

 others. It fronts eastwardly, and the platform of its top is reached by thirty-four 



Mosaico Mejicano. 



