20 CHICHEN ITZA. 



walls and the rough surfaces left exposed. The total length of the building is 

 170 feet. 



The two central chambers on the west side (Plan on Plate XIX.) appear to be 

 the earliest part of the building, and the many-chambered wings later additions. The 

 solid block in the centre is difficult to understand ; it possibly contains blocked-up 

 chambers, but I was not able to find any trace of them where the masonry has been 

 broken into. The eastern part of this mass of masonry is clearly of still later 

 construction than the wings, as the notched wall-plate and cornice which ornaments 

 the wings can be detected passing behind it. There is no stairway or other means 

 of ascent to the roof of the building ; and the only conclusion I can come to is that 

 it was intended to add an upper storey on the solid basement, and that the design was 

 afterwards abandoned. 



The only other point of interest in this structure is the carved lintel (Plate XIX.) 

 over the inner doorway, marked with anX on the ground-plan, from which the building 

 takes its name, " Ak at 'Cib," which means " the writing in the dark." 



No. 5. — The next building to be described, the Caracol (= the snail-shell) (Plate II., 

 No. 5 ; Plans and Sections on Plate XX. ; and views, Plates XXI. and XX1L, a), 

 which, unfortunately, is in a much-ruined condition, is raised on a double foundation. 

 The lower foundation or basement is nearly, if not quite, rectangular, and measures 

 229 by 166 feet, and is 21 feet high ; the corners are rounded, and the sides slope 

 inwards and are capped by a notched cornice. 



On the north-west side a few broad steps lead up to the main stairway by which the 

 first terrace is reached. 



To the south of this stairway can be traced a fragmentary building attached to the 

 basement, which it is not easy to understand. It apparently consisted of two chambers, 

 and was approached by a stairway on the north-west side. The floors of the chambers 

 are about on a level with the bottom of the notched cornice of the basement of the 

 Caracol, so that this building, when complete, must have much exceeded that basement 

 in height. Thinking it might have served as a portico, I examined the inner chamber 

 for traces of steps leading to the terrace, but none could be found. Neither could 

 any distinct traces of a doorway be seen in the foundation of the wall dividing the 

 two chambers, although there can be little doubt that such a doorway must have 

 existed. As, however, only a few inches of the height of the walls are now discernible, 

 it is difficult to come to any exact conclusions. 



The upper terrace, on which the Caracol itself stands, is 13 feet high, and, like the 

 lower foundation, the wall is capped with a notched cornice. The west side measures 

 74 feet, but the east side exceeds it in length by 8 feet. The south side is 67 feet 

 long, and the north side somewhat longer. 



