Edzná Part 3 of 8: Pyramids and temples of the Great Acropolis

The Pyramid of the Five Levels dominates the east side of the Great Acropolis. This view is of the west face. In my last posting, I focused on the western side of the Great Acropolis. In this one, we will explore the pyramids and temples that border the east, north, and south sides.

The Pyramid of the Five Levels was built over a much older pyramid, a practice that was common throughout Mesoamerica. The earlier, nine-level structure was uncovered during recent excavations of the east side of the pyramid. This structure may date as early as 250 AD, which would pre-date the construction of the Great Acropolis.

Over a period of about 1000 years, Edzná's architects expanded and remodeled the pyramid, making it the centerpiece of the Great Acropolis. It contains elements of the Petén, Puuc, Chenes, Chontal, and Post-Classic styles, spanning the whole architectural history of Edzná.

Floor plan of the Pyramid of the Five Levels. Each of the five levels contains rooms, some of which appear to have been elite residences. The schematic above shows 23 rooms on the first four levels. The fifth floor temple contains an additional 5, for a total of 28. However, these are only the rooms that have been restored, most of which are on the west side. The north and south sides almost certainly had more rooms than have been restored to date. The east side of the pyramid is the least excavated, so it is unclear whether it might contain additional rooms.

Extending up from the top of the temple is a structure that archeologists call a "roof comb". This was a decorative element typical of the Early Classic Petén style. On the first and fourth floors, the doorways are divided by Puuc-style columns, popular during the Middle and Late Classic eras.

The pyramid's base measures 60m (197ft) on each side. From the bottom of the stairway to the top of the roof comb, the pyramid's height is 31.5m (103ft). If you add the 8m (26ft) height of the Great Acropolis' platform, the total height of the pyramid reaches 39.5m (129ft). This makes it the tallest structure in the whole Valley of Edzná. (Floor plan above from Edzná: A Pre-Columbian City in Campeche, by Antonio Benavides Castillo)

Only the north side of the stairway has been restored. The broad staircase along the pyramid's base has four steps, the risers of which contain hieroglyphs. Notice the section of staircase just above the four hieroglyphic steps. There is a passage running behind the stairs, which archeologists call a "flying stairway. This is yet another example of the Puuc style.

Doors to rooms can be seen on each floor on either side of the staircase. The rooms have vaulted ceilings and, in some cases, benches along the walls. Such benches are often found in rooms used for residential purposes. In the Maya area of Mesoamerica, it is uncommon for pyramids and temples to be used for both religious ceremonies and elite housing.

One of the few other examples of such a mix can be found at the Great Palace at Sayil, a Maya city to the north of Edzná in the state of Yucatan. However, The differences in appearance between Edzná's Pyramid of the Five Levels and the Great Palace of Sayil are significant. Among other things, the Sayil structure is rectangular and contains only three levels.

Puuc-style columns decorate the entrances of two first floor rooms on the left side. Although the rest of the west face of the pyramid tends to be very symmetrical, the right side of the first floor is different. In contrast to the two rooms on the left side, with free-standing columns in their two doorways, the right side has three rooms with four doorways. None of the right-side doorways have free-standing columns.

In the right foreground are the four hieroglyphic steps. If you look closely, you can see flat, oval stones on the risers that contain the glyphs. There are a total of 86 glyphs, some of which were still legible. One of these contains a Long Count calendar date corresponding to 652 AD, the beginning of the Late Classic era. The date may relate to the initiation or completion of some phase of construction, or perhaps another event that a ruler wanted to commemorate. 652 AD occurs at the beginning of the period when, after a long hiatus, there was a burst of monument building at Edzná.

View of the north side of the pyramid. Extending from the left side of the base of the staircase is one of the odd concave buttresses. There is a similar buttress on the right side of the stairs. These Puuc/Chontal features were added during the Terminal Classic period (900-1100 AD). Their purpose is not clear.

The thatched palapa near the top of the staircase protects a section of the pyramid that was exposed during the recent excavations. It was that work which revealed the much older pyramid underneath. On the south side of the pyramid, there is another staircase that also leads up to the temple on top. At the very top of the pyramid, the back of the roof comb is visible. In 2002, Hurricane Isidore caused a partial collapse on the north side of the pyramid, revealing parts of a big stucco mask.

View of the fourth floor, the temple, and the roof comb. There are only two west-facing rooms on the four floor, located on either side of the staircase. Each room has one doorway with a free-standing Puuc-style column. This is the smallest number of rooms of any of the five floors. In the lower right corner of the photo you can see the staircase on the south face of the pyramid.

The fifth-floor temple has five rooms, three of which run parallel from north to south. The other two are on the ends and run east to west. The temple's only exterior doors are found in the east and west facing rooms. The west-facing room, seen above, has two large pilasters (rectangular columns) in its entrance. Along with its religious functions, the temple was probably used for astronomical observations.

The roof comb is an upright, flat extension of the temple's roof. Part of the right side is missing. The roof comb served as the support structure for a large, brightly painted, stucco design. The design has been lost to the elements, but it may have contained the mask of a god. Such masks once adorned the roof combs at Tikal and other Petén-style pyramids.


The North Temple

North Temple, viewed from the top of the Great Staircase. This is a good example of how the Maya continually modified their structures over the centuries. The first temple was built between 300-500 AD and had a staircase across almost the entire south side and galleries on the upper levels. Sometime between 500-600 AD, the stairway was covered, leaving only a narrower staircase flanked by massive, Puuc-style sloping slabs. At the same time, the galleries were filled and narrow stairways with balustrades were added.

View of the North Temple from its right side. The sloping Puuc-style slabs can be seen on either side of the central staircase. Between 600-1100 AD, the upper temple was covered over, for unknown reasons.

Decorations on the south side of the North Temple. These carved stone "drums" are a common feature of the Puuc architectural style. During the Late Post-Classic period (1100-1400 AD) another temple was built at the top of the structure. This last temple combines Puuc, Chenes, and Chontal features. All of the changes over the centuries created a structure with a chiaroscuro (light and shadow) effect.

View toward the south from the steps of the North Temple. To the left is the Pyramid of the Five Levels and in the distance is the Temple of the Moon. The odd "C"-shaped platform in the foreground is not aligned with any other structure on the Great Acropolis. However it is similar to structures built in the Late Post-Classic era, near the end of occupation at Edzná.

The C-shaped platform would have had low walls lined with benches on its three sides, with the fourth side left open. The walls of Post-Classic buildings were often made with rubble scavenged from the crumbling Classic structures around them and then roofed with perishable materials. They are typically found in pre-existing plazas or courtyards. This explains the existence of this peculiar platform and its lack of alignment with the otherwise perfectly balanced arrangement of buildings on the Acropolis.


The Temple of the Moon

The Temple of the Moon forms the south side of the Great Acropolis. The temple is massive and only the north face has been excavated. It measures 40m (131ft) long, 30m (98ft) wide, and 8m (26ft) high. The broad central staircase is flanked by seven ascending levels on either side. The base of the Temple extends all the way down to the Great Plaza on which the Acropolis sits.

Temple of the Moon, viewed from the Southwest Temple. Here you can clearly see the seven tiers of the temple and its broad staircase. The sharp-angled corners on the structure are typical of the Early Classic Petén style. There are three rooms on the top of the structure.

A long narrow room flanked by two smaller ones forms the top of the temple. The entrance to the room is from the right. The form of this entrance is extremely rare. It has four doorways divided by three large pilasters (square pillars). This is a highly unusual feature of Maya architecture. A wide bench extends along the back side of the room. At either end of this room are two small rooms arranged like the cross pieces on the capital letter "I".

It is presently unknown what gods may have been worshiped at this grand temple. However, it is possible to envision Edzná's ruling astronomer-priests ritually adorning themselves with the jade, quetzal feathers, and jaguar pelts kept in the small end-rooms. Then, with slow dignity, they would assemble in the long room to sit in a row on the bench, gazing out between the pilasters at the crowd  gathered below in the plaza of the Great Acropolis.

This concludes my posting on the temples and pyramids of the Great Acropolis of Edzná. In my next posting, I will show the Small Acropolis and the South Plaza, including the Temple of the Masks. I hope you have enjoyed this posting. If so, please leave any thoughts or questions in the Comments section below. If you leave a question, PLEASE leave your email address so that I can respond.

Hasta luego.