CHICHEN ITZA. do 



ruined building stands on the edge of the 'Cenote ; one portion of it looks very much 

 like the remains of an oven, possibly for the baking of the earthenware figures 

 mentioned in the report. The ruins of this small building can be seen on the left 

 side of the photograph, Plate LTV., a. 



Returning by the roadway and passing No. 14 there is next to be described the 

 loftiest and most conspicuous building in Chichen, No. 15, commonly known as the 

 Castillo (Plates LV. to LIX.). This must be the great Cue mentioned both in the 

 Valladolid report and in Landa's description of the Ruins. There is considerable 

 difficulty in obtaining accurate measurements of the Castillo owing to the large amount 

 of fallen stone, but there is little doubt that the pyramidal foundation is not exactly 

 set square, and the building at the top shows considerable difference in the measurements 

 of its four sides. 



The foundation is a truncated stone pyramid, measuring nearly 195 feet square at 

 the base and 78^ feet in height. In the centre of each slope is a stairway which with 

 its broad balustrade measures 37 feet across. Each stairway projects 14 feet from the 

 base of the pyramid and rising at an angle of 45° comes flush with the face of the 

 pyramid at the top platform. The foot of the northern stairway is decorated with two 

 huge serpents' heads, shown in Plate LVIII. The sides of the pyramid itself are 

 divided into 9 great steps, and the face of each step is divided into panels which were 

 probably adorned with paintings. The whole structure is stone-faced and has been 

 coated with plaster, excepting the level terraces formed by the great steps, which 

 appear to have been paved with a thick coating of cement only. 



The ground-plan of this building is given on Plate LV. A broad entrance divided 

 by two serpent columns, similar to those shown on Plate XXXII. , leads into the 

 northern chamber or porch *. The inner chamber is nearly square and is lighted only 

 from a door on the north side. Two square stone pillars covered with sculptured 

 ornament carry the carved wooden beams which support the triple-vaulted roof. This 

 inner chamber is surrounded on three sides by an outer corridor having three doors, 

 each door fronting one of the great stairways. The lintels of all the doorways in this 

 building are made of beams of sapote wood. 



It is difficult to form a correct idea of the sculptured ornaments of the temple, as 

 the carved wooden beams are weatherworn and have been ruthlessly mutilated, and 

 many of the stone sculptures are hopelessly weatherworn, whilst those of the central 

 chamber have been thickly covered with a coating of adhesive cement which is very 

 difficult to remove. Such sculptures as can be well seen are exceedingly crude both in 

 design and execution, and all seem to be below the average in artistic value. 



The panels at the top and bottom of the carved columns and on the jambs of the 

 doors facing north usually contain grotesque figures with hands raised up as if 

 supporting a heavy weight. On one of the inner jambs of the central doorway the 



* See pages 27-28. 



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