Palenque - ancient Mayan city.
Palenque is an ancient Maya city, settled in the middle of the jungle, in the south of Mexico, in the state Chiapas.
It was first occupied around 100 BC, flourished around AD 700 and largely abandoned after AD 900.
The city was soon overgrown (jungle here is extremely dense) and remained unknown until 1746.
The ruins are made up of some 500 buildings spread over 15 sq km, but only few have been excavated.
In Mayan times all those grey buildings were painted in red, blue and yellow colours.
Everything here was built without metal tools, animals or the wheel.
Many plazas and buildings were constructed during the reign of the greatest Palenques king – Pakal.
Templo de las Inscripciones (Temple of the Inscriptions) is named after long Mayan inscriptions found on one of the interior walls. The inscriptions are saying about the history of Palenque and the temple.
The Temple of the Inscriptions is famed as Pakal's Tomb buried deep inside this monument. Pakals skeleton and jade mosaic death mask were moved to Mexico City. The mask was stolen in 1985...
This is El Palacio (Palace). Large complex with courtyards, tower, a maze of corridors and rooms.
The tower was constructed so that Mayan royalty and priests could observe the sun falling into the Templo de las Inscripciones during the winter solstice.
Hanging out in the ruins...
Relief sculptures in Patio de los Cautivos (Patio of the Captives) probably are representing conquered rulers (because of such characteristic like: jewelery in ears suggesting high positions, damaged genitals – as was done with conquered enemies).
Grupo de la Cruz (Group of the Cross) was built by the Pakal’s son – Kan B’alam. The “cross” carvings here symbolize the ceiba tree, which in Mayan belief held up the universe.
Templo del Sol (Temple of the Sun).
Templo de la Cruz (Templo of the Cross).
Templo de la Cruz Foliada (Temple of the Foliated Cross).
As usual there are some people selling handicrafts.
North of El Palacio there are a ball court (juego de palota) and buildings of Grupo Norte (Northern Group).
One crazy guy – Count de Waldeck, lived for two years in the 19th century on the Templo del Conde (Temple of the Count).
Templo de la Calavera (Temple of the Skull) named for the relief sculpture of a rabbit or deer skull at the one of its pillars.
Palenque - immensely impressive place.
PS. Once I was on the meeting with the swiss researcher Erich van Däniken.
He was presenting one of his theories, saying that the ancient civilizations from Mexico were visited by a space-faring race.
His evidence was the picture from the Paklas tomb lid in Palenque.
Däniken claimed that the human figure portrayed in the relief is an ancient astronaut in the spacecraft.
posted by anna buda @ 14:29
5 Comments:
That's awesome that you were in Peru. It's been an interest of mine for years. I think it's one that'll have to wait til my girls are grown up a lil bit more but nontheless it will be mine, oh yes it will be. Thanks for stopping by my blog! See you around ;)
Just one thing Nathelie, it was in Mexico (not in Peru:). I have never been to Peru but I guess both countries are extremely fascinating.
Take care.
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