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the ruins of the pyramid by a name equivalent to 

 that of a castle, or citadel. The great analogy 

 between the form of this kind of citadel, and the 

 teocallis, leads me to think, that the hill of 

 Xochicalco was merely a fortified temple. The 

 pyramid of Mexitli, or the great temple of 

 Tenochtitlan, contained also an arsenal, and 

 served during the siege as a fort, sometimes to 

 the Mexicans, and at others to the Spaniards. 

 We learn from Scripture, that, in the earliest 

 times, the temples of Asia, such as that of Baal 

 Berith at Shechem, in Canaan, were not only 

 buildings consecrated to worship, but also en- 

 trenchments, in which the inhabitants of a city 

 defended themselves against the attacks of an 

 enemy. Nothing indeed is more natural to men, 

 than to fortify the places, which contain the tu- 

 telary gods of the country. What more animat- 

 ing when the state is in danger, than to fly to 

 the foot of their altars, and fight under their im- 

 mediate protection ? Among the nations whose 

 temples were built like the pyramid of Belus, 

 one of the most ancient in its figure, the struc- 

 ture of the edifice might serve the double pur- 

 pose of worship and defence. In the Grecian 

 temples, the wall which formed the peribolos 

 alone afforded an asylum to the besieged. 



The natives of the neighbouring village of 

 Tetlama are in possession of a map, drawn 

 before the arrival of the Spaniards, but to which 



