70 THE INSCRIPTIONS AT COPAN. 
there in 1918 had been carried thither from the mound of Stela 7 in 1897 
during its construction. (See figure 22, e’.) 
When fitted together these two fragments make one piece, which 
originally formed a part of the right half of the front (or back) of a stela, 
the adjoining surface to the right being dressed but not sculptured, and 
that to the left being rough, as though a part were broken off here. 

Fic. 7.—Inscription on front.of Stela 22. Fic. 8.—Inscription on front (or back) of Stela 25. 
The single sculptured surface of the assembled piece (see figure 8) 
shows parts of two glyph-blocks, 34 cm. wide and at present 21 cm. high. 
And if, as the writer believes, the two upper signs are parts of the same 
glyph-block as the two lower ones—and no space shows between the two 
characters in the upper half of the glyph-block (see figure 8)—the glyph- 
blocks on this monument originally must have been 30 cm. high. Finally, 
if the piece recovered represents only the right half of the monument, as 
seems possible, its total width originally must have been 66 to 68 cm. It is 
possible, however, that the piece as found, represents the original width of 
the monument, in which case it was only 33 or 34 cm. wide. 
The only surely decipherable character is the lower left-hand glyph in 
the upper glyph-block, which unmistakably records the day 3 Ahau. This 
is surmounted by a tassel-like ornament practically identical with that just 
described as occurring in the day-signs on Stel@ 24, 15, and 9. 
This glyph is followed by a sign, the coefficient of which is surely 8. 
Parts of three other signs show, but they are all of unknown meaning. 
In order to decipher this date, it is first necessary to make the following 
postulate, namely, that this day 3 Ahau stood either at the end of some 
katun or lahuntun of the Long Count. This postulate, as will appear at the 
end of this chapter, is amply substantiated by practically all the stele of the 
Early Period at Copan, and if hotuns, 7. ¢., quarter katuns, be included, it 
is substantiated by 95 per cent of all stele throughout the Maya area. 
