The Temple of the Inscriptions is one of the most impressive buildings at the site. While excavating the room at the top of this structure in 1952, the Mexican Archeologist Alberto Ruz Lhuillier discovered a hidden chamber and a concealed stairway filled with rubble. It took four field seasons to follow the stairs 80 vertical feet into the pyramid. They terminate in a chamber 30 feet long by 13 feet wide with a high vaulted arch of 23 feet which contains the crypt of Pacal--the most important ruler at the site. The sarcophagus is famous for it's sculpture of the tree of life and the afterworld journey of Pacal. A jade burial mask was found in the crypt.
At the bottom of the outside stairway on the plaza is a round stone monument. The tomb of Pacal lies approximately 5 feet underneath this spot.
©1996 Ken Goehring
