20 COPAN. 



On the terrace to the north of the Great Plaza is another square mound [No. 2], which, 

 as in the case of the last described, shows no trace of any stone building having been 

 raised on it. Immediately to the west of this mound are the remains of a long single- 

 chambered house. The group of buildings on the terrace to the east of the plaza show 

 unmistakable signs of having been houses. The high foundation [No. 3] at the east 

 end of this group would probably repay excavation ; the stairway on the south side of 

 it can be clearly made out, and there are some roofing-stones lying at the foot of the 

 slopes. 



The mound [No. 4] standing by itself, in the centre of the Plaza, is one of considerable 

 interest ; the outer casing of masonry is much broken up and has almost entirely dis- 

 appeared, but the steps by which it was ascended are still traceable on the east side. 

 The top rises almost to a point, and there is no sign of any building ever having stood 

 on it. An excavation was made into the centre of this mound from the top, opening 

 towards the south side. The upper part was composed of rough unworked blocks of 

 stone and mud, with occasional layers of cement and sand ; the lower two thirds of 

 stone and mud only. The excavation was then continued below the level of the plain 

 through about twelve feet of hard-rammed earth, free from stones, below which the 

 natural soil appeared to have been undisturbed. In the centre of the mound, about 

 six feet from the top, an earthern pot (Plate XXL, a) was found containing a bead- 

 shaped piece of greenstone, pierced, diameter two and three quarter inches (b), the jade 

 whorl of a spindle (c), the remains of a necklace of nine jade beads (d), four pearls (e), 

 some small rough figures and other ornaments cut out of pearl oyster-shell (f), and 

 other irregular pieces of roughly carved pearl-shell (g). At the bottom of the pot 

 was some red powder (which proved to be finely ground cinnabar), and several ounces 

 of quicksilver. Eighteen inches above this pot some traces of bone were found mixed 

 with sand. At the level of the ground, more traces of bones were found mixed with 

 red cinnabar powder and sand, and one large pierced bead-shaped stone, diameter three 

 inches (h). About eight to nine feet below the level of the plain, a skeleton of a 

 jaguar was found lying under a layer of charcoal. I was able to preserve some of the 

 teeth and some part of the jaw as well as a few small pieces of the other bones by 

 dropping them into glue. The teeth and part of the skeleton had been painted red. 

 About 100 yards almost directly to the south of this mound I shortly afterwards 

 opened another very much smaller and much more ruined mound [No. 5], and, under 

 a thick layer of cement at the level of the ground, found a few small fragments of 

 human bones, two small stone axes, and portions of another jaguar's skeleton, and some 

 dog's teeth, showing that such an interment of animals was not a matter of chance. 



On the west side of the southern portion of the Plaza is a long mound [No. 6] which 

 proved to be the remains of two long single-chambered houses, one having four and the 

 other three doorways opening towards the Plaza. Excavations laid bare portions of 

 the walls of the chambers and the commencement of the horizontal arch of the roof. 



