26 



COPAN. 



a narrow opening (— ) between the south side of the foundation of the building last 

 described and a row of much ruined houses. To the south of this line of houses two 

 slopes, with a broad terrace between, descend to the level of the plain ; beyond this 

 •again are numerous remains of smaller buildings, hidden in the thick scrub, which do 

 not need especial notice. 



Towards the east end of the space between the row of ruined houses and the 

 pyramidal foundation a second narrow opening (-*) gives access to a passage leading to 

 an inner court, which may be called the Eastern Court. On the east side of this passage 

 is a terrace [No. 17], which is reached by a flight of steps in the centre of the slope, and 

 was found to be strewn with broken pieces of sculptured stone. At the south end of the 

 terrace is a raised foundation [No. 18] which once supported a stone-roofed structure. 

 At the east side a few steps lead up to the broken masonry at the top of the river-wall. 

 This line of tumbled stones [No. 19] I examined with great care, and was successful in 

 making out that it was the remains of a row of houses which had extended nearly the 

 whole length of the terrace, the greater part of which had fallen away into the river 

 below. At the north end of this row of houses there stands, facing the Eastern Court, 

 another raised foundation [No. 20] which supported the most curious building the 

 excavations brought to light — no doubt the same building which Palacio describes as a 

 tower. Such a mass of stone had fallen down into the court below that the stone slope 

 and steps leading up to the building were completely hidden. On the side towards the 

 river traces of a wall were found almost overhanging the cliff, which here measures 

 107 feet in height from the level of the river. It is necessary to turn to the detail 

 Plan and Section to form an idea of this curious building. 



Plan and Section op No. 20. 



The central doorway is approached from the Eastern Court by a flight of steps ; on 

 each side of the doorway a platform or terrace 9 feet wide runs in front of the building ; 

 7 or 8 feet inside the doorway another flight of steps commences and runs through to the 

 back wall of the building, rising about 14 feet. At the distance of 4 feet 9 inches from 

 the back wall other steps turn to the north, and lead up to a narrow landing which gives 



