28 



CHTCHEN ITZA. 



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1 



Plates XXX. to XXXIV., a.) A forked tongue, carved on a separate stone, projected 



for a distance of 2 feet 6 inches in front of each head. These tongues are not now in 



position, but were found amongst the debris at the foot of the wall. The southern 



column, including the serpent's head, is formed of two blocks 



of stone, the northern column of three blocks. These columns 



rise to a height of only 7 feet 6 inches, and were surmounted 



by a most extraordinary form of capital, consisting of two limbs 



nearly at right angles one to another, cut from a single block 



of stone : one limb covered the top of the column and formed 



the capital supporting the wooden architrave, and the other 



turned up in front of the building and was carved on its sides 



and face to represent the rattles of the rattlesnake. The effect 



gained from this arrangement is well shown in the restoration 



of the building on Plate XXXII. 



I had for some time been greatly puzzled by finding similar stones lying at the 

 bottom of the mounds (one can be seen in Plate XXV., a, at the foot of the stairway). 

 The markings on them were clearly meant to represent the tails of rattlesnakes, but in 

 no instance did I find one in position, and it was no easy matter to determine whence 

 they had fallen. The proper position at the top of the columns at last occurred to 

 me, but there was nothing beyond probability to guide me in determining if the tail 

 should be turned up or down ; eventually one was found with very faint traces of 

 human figures carved on one side, and the position of these figures was conclusive 

 evidence that the tails were turned upward. However, whilst those investigations 

 were going on, no trace had been seen of any such capitals belonging to the two serpent 

 columns of the great Ball Court Temple ; but, having formed our conclusions from the 

 other examples, we set to work and unearthed from the debris at the foot of the wall 

 the huge fragments of two such capitals, from which accurate measurements were 

 taken ; and the thickness of those capitals, when added to the height of the columns, 

 was found to bring their upper surface exactly to the level of the top of the pilasters h, h, 

 so that the wooden lintel would lie evenly over them. 



The form of the capitals must almost certainly have ensured the speedy destruction 

 of the building, for any decay in the wooden beams must have thrown the weight of 

 the roof outwards and made the upright tail into the arm of a lever to overturn the 

 whole mass. The Castillo (No. 15) is the only building constructed on this plan of 

 which the front is still standing, and in that case some stones falling from above had 

 knocked off both the upturned tails as well as the heads of the snakes, and so restored 

 the equilibrium ; but this breakage had so thoroughly destroyed the character of the 

 columns and their capitals that they afforded me little help in making out the original 

 design. 



