Page:Appleton's Guide to Mexico.djvu/67

Rh "The largest known building at Palenque is called the 'Palace.' It stands near the river, on a terraced pyramidal foundation, 40 feet high and 310 feet long, by 260 feet broad at the base. The edifice itself is 238 feet long, 180 wide, and 25 feet high. It faces the east, and has 14 door-ways on each side, with 11 at the ends. It was built entirely of hewn stone, laid with admirable precision in mortar, which seems to have been of the best quality. A corridor 9 feet wide, and roofed by a pointed arch, went round the building on the outside; and this was separated from another within of equal width.

"The 'Palace' has four interior courts, the largest being 70 by 80 feet in extent. These are surrounded by corridors, and the architectural work facing them is richly decorated. Within the building were many rooms. From the north side of one of the smaller courts rises a high tower, or pagoda-like structure, 30 feet square at the base, which goes up far above the highest elevation of the building, and seems to have been still higher when the whole structure was in perfect condition. The great rectangular mound used for the foundation was cased with hewn stone, the workmanship here, and everywhere else throughout the structure, being very superior. The piers around the courts are 'covered with figures in stucco, or plaster, which, where broken, reveals six or more coats or layers, each revealing traces of painting.' This indicates that the building had been used so long before it was deserted that the plastering needed to be many times renewed. There is some evidence that painting was used as a means of decoration; but that which most engages attention is the artistic management of the stone-work, and, above all, the beautifully executed sculptures for ornamentation.

"Two other buildings at Palenque, marked by Mr. Stephens, in his plan of the ruins, as 'Casa No. 1' and ‘Casa No. 2,' . . . . are smaller, but in some respects still