Page:Researches in the Central Portion of the Usumatsintla Valley.djvu/24

16 The main surfaces of the wall are smooth, but on both sides of the entrance I could discern traces of a scrolled border; besides this, close below the projecting slabs of the cornice, along the entire façade, ran a red band of hieroglyphs, and below this another red band, which was intersected by the lintel. Even on the smooth surface of the front wall vestiges of red color were perceptible, so that it may be assumed that the entire front surface of the main wall, together with the edge of the door and the band of glyphs, was painted fiery red, with the exception of the small squares containing the hieroglyphs — of which only three are preserved — and these it seems

Fig. 3. —

to me were left white so that they might form a contrast to the red background. The glyphs did not form a closely consecutive series, but were separated by rather wide intervals. One of the little pictures shows two charming faces in profile, one placed half over the other, surrounded by some explanatory signs. The other two glyphs consist of tangled scrolls.

The frieze has a heavy cornice, composed of strongly projecting bevelled slabs, and above this lies a somewhat receding course of stone. The steeply sloping surfaces of the frieze were probably ornamented at the corners and at stated intervals with sitting figures in stucco, measuring about two-thirds of the height of the frieze (Fig. 3). Only the stones forming the bases of these figures are preserved, while the greater portion of the stucco has fallen off. The upper cornice of the frieze is like the lower, but less heavy.