Palenque, Chiapas - The Temple of the Inscriptions

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Palenque - The Temple of the Inscriptions

Temple of the Inscriptions

Temple of the Inscriptions was so named because of the three remarkable tablets with inscriptions of the history of Pakal and 180 years of Palenque itself - including 617 glyphs. Pakal ordered the building of this huge funeral pyramid in 675 AD and it was completed after his death by his son.

The pyramid is 60 meters wide, 42.5 meters deep and 27.2 meters high. It is a stepped Pyramid with eight levels and a long staircase leading up to five entrances and the top rooms. The backside of the Pyramid butts up to a natural hill. The decorative comb or roof ornament made this extraordinary pyramid even taller. Stucco sculptures adorn the pillars of Palenque Gods, Pakal’s mothger and son.

Mexican Archeologist Alberto Ruz Lhuillier in 1952 discovered Pakal’s tomb after he removed a stone slab on the floor. It revealed a long 25 meter (82 feet) deep stairwell filled with rubble down to the tomb. It took two years to clear the passageway but offered many findings of offerings along the way. At the bottom of the stairs was a large stone box containing six sacrificial victims. A stone slab beside the block denied access to Pakal’s funeral chamber.

The chamber 9 by 4 meters (29 by 13 feet) has a vaulted ceiling. The coffin was a singular stone block carved out for the body of the king. A single stone slab covered the body. The tomb had an elaborately decorated carved sarcophagus, the rich ornaments accompanying Pakal, including a death mask. The sarcophagus lid shows Pakal as represented by the corn God, leaving the underworld. During the winter solstice a duct allowed sunlight to shine on Pakal.

You can only admire the pyramid from the ground. The tomb has been closed and the tomb moved to the onsite museum. Mexico claimed the tomb, Pakal’s body and the famous jade death mask for the National Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City.

Palenque - The Temple of the Inscriptions Photographs by Bill Bel