Page:Explorations of the upper Usumatsintla and adjacent region.djvu/101

Rh Unfortunately, the stelae and circular altars of Tópoxté have no sculpture of any kind, but one stela has a circle of six little perforations, probably for the insertion of some kind of adornment. The north side of the terrace is closed by a structure placed across it, of the same type as the two just described, with its façade facing the south.

The architectural finish of the southern end of this group of buildings is formed by a curious, massive structure without entrances or chambers, which, I conjecture, must have been a mortuary monument. It stands a little in advance of the group of buildings, on a rectangular addition to that corner of the terrace. Without doubt its four sides were similarly treated, the north side perhaps being somewhat favored. The structure may have consisted of

three parts, but its external divisions can now hardly be distinguished. It is not improbable that some future explorer may find a burial chamber full of interesting objects in the interior of this mysterious structure. It will, however, be difficult to break into it without destroying the entire structure.

A more detailed description will now be given of the main temple (Fig. 11), which, with the exception of the roof, is well preserved.

The massive substructure consists of a succession of three terraces with a wide, well projecting stairway on the west side leading to the first platform, from which rises a fourth terrace, three meters high, with a short flight of stairs on the west side leading to the temple itself. The temple consists of two compartments of equal length, built one behind the other. Their inside length is 906 cm. and the length of their façade is 10 m. 70 cm. The