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| The Nohol Trail continues south and passes a small Pimental, where a cluster of allspice or Pimienta Gorda trees is growing. These small saplings, natives of the Maya forest, grow into beautiful trees that bear a fruit that, when dried, provides our familiar allspice seasoning. The leaves exude the fragrant aroma from essential allspice oils. The fresh leaves of mature trees are collected to make a refreshing tea. As a reminder, please take care not to harm any of these healthy pioneers. |
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| Passing the allspice trees, you will come upon a large building along the west side of Plaza Copal. This building, designated EP 10, is a massive pyramid. It has been named Nohoch Aak (Big Turtle in Yacatec Mayan). This pyramid rises to a height of 12 meters (40 feet) with a series of five inset platforms to a range building across the top. The range building was two rooms deep and possibly seven rooms across. A range building is made up of a long series of rooms, ordered in a row, often called a "palace." | |
| The base of Nohoch Aak stretches almost 60 meters (193 feet) and has a stairway that is 14 meters wide (46 feet) centered on its east side. Excavations (always backfilled to protect the structure) reveal excellent preservation in most areas of the building, promising a beautifully consolidated portion of the facade in the future. All the corners of this pyramid are rounded, a building style often seen in the Peten. | |
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At the southern end of the Nohoch Aak is a small, square platform that appears to be an extension of the pyramid. Several hypotheses attempted to identify its use and ranged from a stela stage to a sweat bath. Excavation, however, revealed a rock crib; a storage area of building stone and fill, obviously a construction staging area. The significance of this area became clear when we began excavating the large pyramid on the eastern side of the plaza. This will be explained when the tour reaches that structure. |
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On the top of the rock crib is a magnificent Ramón
tree. These trees tend to grow in areas of disturbed limestone,
such as collapsed ancient buildings, and are characterized by large
flamboyant buttressed roots.
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| To the right of the path, around the Ramón tree, there is a small clearing leading to the edge of the plaza. Take a look over the edge of this drop. You are staring down 11 meters (36 feet) to the base of Nohoch Aak! Imagine viewing this pyamid as a resident below. It would appear twice as tall as it does from Plaza Copal. We now know that the Maya filled in the area from this point to the edge. In other words, you are standing on 14,000 metersł of fill (or nearly half a million feetł) placed here by human labor--load by load--during ancient Maya times. |  |
| The plaza you are standing on forms the foundation for all the buildings of Copal. The level of this plaza extends south and west under and around Plaza Axcanan. When you enter Plaza Axcanan, notice that the plaza is higher than Copal. Over the course of the Preclassic and Classic periods, construction in the area enclosed the plaza and raised the level of the surface. The Nohol trail runs directly in front of the southernmost structure at Plaza Copal that opens onto Copal to the north and Axcanan to the south. | |
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