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| You should now be standing at the base of the stairway leading up
the south structure of Plaza Copal. Visitors often ask, "How
do archaeologists know what a structure looks like without excavating
it?" Face the structure, EP 3 or Xakah (Mayan for detained),
and look closely at the front of the mound. Can you detect a fan shaped
bulge of earthen rubble projecting into Plaza Copal on either side
of the steps? This bulge is a tell-tale signature of an attached projecting
stairway (as opposed to an inset stairway like the rise from Plaza
Duende to Plaza Copal). From the bottom and as you climb the stairs,
you can also see signs of a stair landing on the platform of Xakah,
two-thirds of the way to the top. This is where you enter the rooms
of the building. |
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Once you have passed through the passageway, turn around and look
at the range building that you just came through. Archaeologists often
look at the corners and edges of structures for clues about their
construction because these areas are the most stable and often retain
their original form. The Maya built these rooms in pairs, back-to-back,
precisely as the rooms you saw in the passage from Copal to Axcanan.
Such buildings would have had stone vaulted ceilings and a high roof
molding with a decorative frieze. |
| Recalling the collapse seen in the passageway from Copal
to Axcanan, you know that these vaults
fell down. When these vaults failed they fell into the rooms, pushing
the outer walls down and out. What is left is a high stretch of the
central spine wall and the perpendicular partition walls attached
to it. Just to the west of the passageway you entered there is an
exposed portion of one partition wall. The remains of rooms can be
seen as depressions in the long mound. This enables us to count the
number of rooms in the building without excavation. If you look at
Xakah from the interior of Plaza Axcanan, you should see five depressions
(including the passageway), marking the five rooms that once opened
onto the north side of Plaza Axcanan. |
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