CHICHEN ITZA. 37 



is clearly too great to have been spanned by a stone roof constructed in the usual 

 form. 



It must be borne in mind that the structure of the parallel-laid stone vault 

 necessitated a considerable weight of masonry to pin down the ends of the roofing- 

 stones (as was shown when describing the Casa Colerada), and that in the case of all 

 double-chambered houses, or with a triple-vaulted roof, such as that of the inner 

 chamber of the Castillo, it was always customary and perhaps necessary to fill in the 

 space between the vaults with rubble, so that each building had a flat outer surface to 

 the roof. If, therefore, three or four parallel rows of columns supported vaults of this 

 nature, on the fall of the roof a very large amount of debris would remain on the 

 ground, probably burying the bases of the columns to the height of three or four feet, 

 if not higher, and amongst this mass of fallen masonry the peculiar-shaped roofing- 

 stones would easily be distinguished ; but this is by no means always the case with 

 the buildings now under consideration. 



In describing these buildings, therefore, I shall merely state the general impression 

 left on my mind after examining the amount of debris and noting the presence or 

 absence of roofing-stones, and postpone all discussion of the difficulties in the way of 

 constructing such stone roofs to the close. 



In the case of No. 16 the front colonnade may have been stone-roofed, and there 

 are traces of additional stone walls between the columns which may have assisted in 

 the support of the vault ; but the enclosed court at the back with columns of less 

 diameter was probably roofed with wood and cement, much in the same way as the 

 houses are roofed in Yucatan at the present time. 



No. 17. — The next structure (No. 17) did not at first promise to repay for any time 

 expended on its examination ; it appeared to be merely a lofty mound of loose stones 

 and rubbish with steep sides, very dangerous to clamber over. However, two large 

 serpents' heads at the foot of the slope on the west side and traces of steps showed 

 that it had once been ascended by a fine stairway. Then my attention was attracted 

 by a large rattlesnake capital lying near the foot of the mound. 1 did not at that 

 time know the significance of these queer-shaped stones, and was constantly on the 

 look-out for information regarding them. The fellow capital was next found lying 

 near the top of the mound close to some pieces of a feathered column. My attention 

 was now thoroughly aroused, and I made a careful examination of the mound, which 

 resulted in finding the serpents' heads, belonging to the bases of the columns of the 

 doorway, still in place at the top of the steps, but so deeply embedded amongst large 

 fallen stones that I did no more than ascertain their position. 



However, the shaft, capital, and base of the serpent column were all close together, 

 and from the position in which the capital had fallen, and the pose of some small 



