FALENQUE. 17 



At the south end, the south-east corner abuts on House E, and the south-west face 

 forms one side of the covered way running along the foundation of the tower, and 

 nearly in the middle of this south face a flight of steps descends along the west wall of 

 House E down to the level of the tower court. These steps are composed of small 

 stones covered with smooth plaster still in good condition. 



The plan of the house (see Plate XXI.) is like those already described ; a double 

 corridor divided, by a main wall which is pierced by only one small square-topped 

 doorway towards the south end. 



There is no opening at the north end of the building ; there is a door at the south 

 end of each corridor, and the east and west sides have each five doorways divided by 

 piers of masonry. 



This building is one of the best preserved at Palenque. The walls are sound, and 

 the size and inclination of the roof appear to afford more security than in Houses A 

 and B. All the wooden lintels have disappeared but not much of the stonework above 

 them has fallen. 



The outer surface of each of the piers between the doorways has been decorated witli 

 designs in stucco, but on the piers facing the east court almost the whole of the plaster 

 casing has fallen away, carrying the ornament with it, and only the scars and a few 

 fragments of mouldings bearing traces of red colouring attest the former existence of 

 elaborate ornament. Whilst digging away the debris which filled up the court, 

 numerous fragments of faces, masks, and ornamental moulding were found, which 

 must have fallen from these piers and the frieze above. (See Plate XLVII. b & c.) 



On the piers at the south end of the house are some fragments of human figures, 

 and on the eastern piers are the seated figures shown in Plate XXVIII. These had 

 probably been preserved by the thick incrustation of carbonate of lime which covered 

 them. 



The wall-plate which projects to form the lower cornice has been built of very 

 fine slabs of stone. Much of it is broken away, but at the S.E. and N.E. corners of 

 the building we discovered some hieroglyphics cut on the under surface of 

 the cornice, and were afterwards able to complete the inscription on the north-east 

 corner on finding the broken portions of the slabs amongst the debris in the 

 court. (See Plate XXIV.) 



Where the edge of the wall-plate forming the lower cornice was still unbroken, 

 concave holes could be seen at intervals cut in the under surface of the projecting 

 portion, each with a stone staple or pin left in the middle, and holes had also been 

 drilled through the outer edge, probably to support a curtain. 



The frieze between the two cornices had been very richly ornamented, and the 

 remains of seven large masks, or faces, can with difficulty be made out both on the 

 east and west sides of the building, and on the east side some portions of human figures 

 can also be detected. 



biol. centk.-amer., Archseol., Vol. IV., April 1896. d 



