4 QUIRIGUA. 



the last steamer leaving for New Orleans before the summer quarantine regulations 

 came into force. Mr. Price and Gorgonio accompanied us to Yzabal and then 

 returned to the ruins to complete the survey and moulding ; but within a day or two of 

 their return both of them were taken so seriously ill with fever that all work had to 

 be abandoned, and it was with some difficulty that they were able to reach the port. 

 As soon as they had regained sufficient strength to travel, Gorgonio Lopez returned to 

 the Vera Paz and Mr. Price took ship for England. My wife was also struck down 

 with fever, but fortunately the malady did not develop until the day we landed in New 

 Orleans and were within reach of medical aid. 



Owing to the unavoidable absence of proper supervision the paper moulds from 

 Copan and Quirigua were repacked carelessly at the Port of Yzabal, and they were 

 nearly all destroyed by moisture during the voyage to England. 



It is much to be regretted that Mr. Price was unable to complete the survey of the 

 ruins, as he had already cleared away all the undergrowth, and had made a careful 

 examination of the mounds and terraces, but it was on the very day that he had 

 adjusted his theodolite and commenced the measurements that the fever struck him 

 and the work had to be given up. The plan on Plate II. is therefore founded on 

 Mr. Blockley's survey, with such corrections and additions as Mr. Price had already 

 noted. 



General Description of the Site and Structures. 

 (Plan on Plate II.) 



The ruins stand on a level plain covered by dense forest, a little over half a mile 

 distant from the left bank of the Motagua River. During the rainy season the site of 

 the ruins must be subject to frequent inundations ; flood watercourses could be traced 

 in all directions, and even in the middle of the dry season the water did not entirely 

 disappear from the pool shown in the north-west corner of the Plan. 



The level of the ground appears to have been raised since the monuments were first 

 placed in position, and it is now necessary to clear away soil, in some cases to the 

 depth of two or three feet, in order to expose the lower part of the sculpture. From 

 observations made during our excavations I am inclined to think that the whole site 

 was once paved with undressed flat stones, probably collected from the river-bed, and 

 that below this pavement was a thick layer of irregular rounded stones through which 

 the rain-water could drain away quickly. 



The principal structure on the north of the plan is a long and somewhat irregular 

 mound with indications of terraces. It is composed of small rough stones, and no 

 trace of regular masonry could be detected ; but it seems probable that the slopes and 



