Palenque Temple of the Inscriptions
Temple of the Inscriptions · Templo de las Inscripciones · Palenque pyramid
Late Classic Maya (675 CE completion; tomb 683 CE interment)·Maya (Palenque Baakal)·🇲🇽 Chiapas, Palenque, Mexico
About
About Palenque Temple of the Inscriptions
Late Classic Maya 27.2 m high 8-step pyramid-temple (600×675 CE) housing only Mesoamerican pyramid tomb comparable to Egyptian: hidden stair 66 steps descending inside to sarcophagus chamber of Pakal the Great (603–683, 80-year reign) with jade death mask andpsychoduct tube to temple floor. Longest Maya hieroglyphic text (620 glyphs) on panels recounts Pakal's dynasty. Alberto Ruz 1952 discovery. Palenque city 15 m plaza rivals artificial mountain.
Why it mattersType-site for Classic Maya kingship and calendrical glyphic historiography.
Open questions
Mysteries & theories
Mysteries
- 01Psychoduct tube function – soul conduit or umbilical
Theories
- 01Inside-pyramid tomb unique in Americas replicates cosmogram mountain with World Tree on sarcophagus lid
Theories are interpretations, not findings. The seal above tells you how much scholarly weight the place carries.
History
How it came to be
- Built
- c. 675–683 CE for Pakal I
- Period
- Late Classic Maya (675 CE completion; tomb 683 CE interment)
- Culture
- Maya (Palenque Baakal)
- Purpose
- Funnel tomb temple of K'inich Janaab' Pakal I
- Excavation
- Excavated
c. 675–683 CE for Pakal I
Initial construction
c. 1674 CE
Rediscovery
On the ground
Structures & features
17.4836° N · 92.0468° W · 100 m · 3 mapped features
Summit Temple with hieroglyphic panels 620 glyphs
templeTemple crowning 8-step pyramid with 3 panels
17.4837° N · 92.0467° WHidden stair 66 steps to crypt
staircaseCorbel-vaulted secret stair descending interior
17.4836° N · 92.0468° WPakal sarcophagus crypt & psychoduct
tomb13-ton lid with World Tree, jade mask chamber, tube to temple floor
17.4836° N · 92.0468° W
Gallery