COPAN. 



25 



<& ' . _- ^ 



Section through No. ] 4 showing line of excavation (shaded poetion). 



remains of a house, but possibly marking the site of some ornamental wall or row of seats. 



Where the walls 



first mentioned 



are broken away 



it can be seen 



that they are 



built of only one 



layer of faced 



stone backed up 



with rubble. 



On the east side of the Western Court is a stairway [No. 15] with twenty steps 

 leading to a raised terrace, on which stand the remains of several small houses ; the 

 steps are built of large blocks of stone averaging in measurement 6 feet X 1 foot 3 inches 

 X 1 foot 5 inches. To the south of this stairway rises the lofty pyramidal foundation 

 of a small temple [No. 16]. 



The ascent to this temple from the Western Court is by a double stairway joining near 

 the top. The space between the two flights of steps is built up with sculptured stones, 

 the chief ornament being rows of what appear to be death's-heads*. The step-like casing 

 of masonry on this side is almost entirely hidden by the masses of stone and rubbish 

 fallen from above. The upper part of this hill had the appearance of a rounded heap 

 of broken blocks of stone bound together by the roots of trees, and there seemed at first 

 sight to be but little hope of finding traces of a temple or any other building. How- 

 ever, by digging and clearing with care, a small chamber was laid bare on the west side 

 (see Plan) with portions of the walls entire to the 

 height of 6 feet, and on the north side a stairway 

 which must have led to an upper chamber, now alto- 

 gether destroyed. In clearing the lower chamber 

 (Plate X., a) a cross-legged headless figure was found 

 which had been thrown down from the raised bench 

 at the east end, also a stone incense-burner which 

 probably stood in front of it, and the remains of two !».= 25*£\_ 

 pieces of rough pottery (Plate XXII., a, b), which 



were probably used for burning offerings of incense. Two of the ornaments which I 

 have called serpents'-heads were built into the wall above the raised bench, and a 

 number of small human and grotesque heads formed the ornaments of a cornice round 

 the wall about 7 feet above the cement floor. A view of this foundation from the 

 north-east is given on Plate X., b. 



All traces of the front wall and doorway have been lost. 



Descending the steps again into the Western Court, and turning to the left, there is 

 * Stephens notes that these death's-heads are more like the skulls of monkeys than of men. 



biol. centr.-amer., Archa?ol., December 1888. e 



Flan of No. 16. 



N 



