{"it":{"id":"MAM-011","kind":"site","sub":"Mesoamerica","name":"Palenque","place":"Mexico","lat":17.484,"lon":-92.046,"date":"The Palenque ruins date from ca. 226 BC to ca. 799 AD.","mat":"limestone","nfacts":20,"tags":["Mesoamerica"],"sum":"On 27 November 1952, in heavy heat and humidity, a team under the archaeologist Alberto Ruz L'huillier raised the carved stone over King Pakal's sarcophagus at Palenque, in Mexico, using truck jacks and tree trunks set at key points.\n\nMexico's national institute of anthropology says the team had freed the triangular slab at the crypt's entrance on 15 June 1952, almost 20 m below the top of the Temple of the Inscriptions. No one had entered the vault since 28 August 683, when Pakal was laid there. The carved stone measures 3.80 m by 2.20 m and is 25 cm thick, with glyphs on its faces and edges.\n\nUNESCO says Palenque was founded in the Late Preclassic and was a powerful capital by about 500 AD. Some 1,400 buildings have been recorded, and only about 10% of the city has been explored.\n\nErich von Däniken saw a machine. In Chariots of the Gods he described a figure bent forward like a racing motorcyclist, in a vehicle that, he wrote, any child would identify as a rocket, with a flame at the tail, his hands on controls and his heel on a pedal. The institute reads the carving through its texts, which tell of Pakal's life and ancestors and show him reborn, rising from the jaws of the creature the Maya called the Earth Monster: a king, not a pilot.\n\nWith 90% of the city unexplored, what else lies under Palenque's forest?","why":"A sealed royal tomb whose lid shows a king's rebirth, read by its own glyphs.","src":[369,370],"nsrc":5,"yt":"Which details convince you?","rel":["MAM-002","W11A36"],"hook":"Pakal's sarcophagus lid at Palenque was lifted with truck jacks and tree trunks."},"S":{"369":["Wikipedia: Palenque","https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palenque"],"370":["Wikipedia: Kʼinich Janaabʼ Pakal","https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%CA%BCinich_Janaab%CA%BC_Pakal"]},"rec":{"id":"MAM-011","alias":[],"ms":[{"f":"River in the Mexican state of Chiapas about","a":"distance (not a site dimension)","v":"130","u":"km","o":"It is located near the Usumacinta River in the Mexican state of Chiapas, about 130 km south of Ciudad del Carmen, 150 m above sea level.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Palenque&oldid=1377492791","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1377492791 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M1887"},{"f":"about 130 km south of Ciudad del Carmen","a":"elevation","v":"150","u":"m","o":"It is located near the Usumacinta River in the Mexican state of Chiapas, about 130 km south of Ciudad del Carmen, 150 m above sea level.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Palenque&oldid=1377492791","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1377492791 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M1888"},{"f":"It averages a humid 26 C with roughly","a":"dimension (unspecified)","v":"2160","u":"mm","o":"It averages a humid 26 °C with roughly 2160 mm of rain a year.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Palenque&oldid=1377492791","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1377492791 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M1889"},{"f":"By 2005 the discovered area covered up to","a":"area","v":"2.5","u":"km2","o":"By 2005, the discovered area covered up to 2.5 km2, but it is estimated that less than 10% of the total area of the city is explored, leaving more than a thousand structures still covered by jungle.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Palenque&oldid=1377492791","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1377492791 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M1890"},{"f":"The pyramid measures","a":"width","v":"60","u":"meters","o":"The pyramid measures 60 meters wide, 42.5 meters deep and 27.2 meters high.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Palenque&oldid=1377492791","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1377492791 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M1891"},{"f":"The pyramid measures 60 meters wide","a":"depth","v":"42.5","u":"meters","o":"The pyramid measures 60 meters wide, 42.5 meters deep and 27.2 meters high.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Palenque&oldid=1377492791","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1377492791 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M1892"},{"f":"60 meters wide 42 5 meters deep and","a":"height","v":"27.2","u":"meters","o":"The pyramid measures 60 meters wide, 42.5 meters deep and 27.2 meters high.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Palenque&oldid=1377492791","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1377492791 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M1893"},{"f":"The summit temple measures","a":"width","v":"25.5","u":"meters","o":"The summit temple measures 25.5 meters wide, 10.5 meters deep and 11.4 meters high.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Palenque&oldid=1377492791","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1377492791 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M1894"},{"f":"The summit temple measures 25 5 meters wide","a":"depth","v":"10.5","u":"meters","o":"The summit temple measures 25.5 meters wide, 10.5 meters deep and 11.4 meters high.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Palenque&oldid=1377492791","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1377492791 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M1895"},{"f":"5 meters wide 10 5 meters deep and","a":"height","v":"11.4","u":"meters","o":"The summit temple measures 25.5 meters wide, 10.5 meters deep and 11.4 meters high.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Palenque&oldid=1377492791","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1377492791 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M1896"},{"f":"The largest stones weigh","a":"mass","v":"12-15","u":"tons","o":"The largest stones weigh 12 to 15 tons.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Palenque&oldid=1377492791","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1377492791 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M1897"},{"f":"is the largest building complex in Palenque measuring","a":"base length/width","v":"97","u":"meters","o":"The Palace is the largest building complex in Palenque measuring 97 meters by 73 meters at its base.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Palenque&oldid=1377492791","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1377492791 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M1898"},{"f":"building complex in Palenque measuring 97 meters by","a":"base length/width","v":"73","u":"meters","o":"The Palace is the largest building complex in Palenque measuring 97 meters by 73 meters at its base.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Palenque&oldid=1377492791","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1377492791 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M1899"},{"f":"the Beautiful Relief at a distance of some","a":"distance (not a site dimension)","v":"200","u":"meters","o":"The Temple of the Beautiful Relief) at a distance of some 200 meters south of the main group of temples; its name came from the elaborate bas-relief carving of a king seated on a throne in the form of a jaguar.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Palenque&oldid=1377492791","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1377492791 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M1900"},{"f":"Otulum Aqueduct A subterranean masonry conduit measuring over","a":"length","v":"100","u":"meters","o":"* The Otulum Aqueduct: A subterranean masonry conduit measuring over 100 meters in length, constructed with a 3-meter-high corbel arch vault beneath the main plaza to divert the Otulum River directly under The Palace complex.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Palenque&oldid=1377492791","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1377492791 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M1901"},{"f":"hydraulic pressure enabling water to jet up to","a":"height","v":"6","u":"meters","o":"This architectural design artificially created hydraulic pressure, enabling water to jet up to 6 meters in height for urban distribution or ceremonial displays.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Palenque&oldid=1377492791","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1377492791 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M1902"},{"f":"exit forcefully under pressure to a height of","a":"height","v":"6","u":"m","o":"It is a spring-fed conduit located on steep terrain that has a restricted outlet that would cause the water to exit forcefully, under pressure, to a height of 6 m.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Palenque&oldid=1377492791","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1377492791 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M1903"},{"f":"It covers an area of","a":"area","v":"17.72","u":"km2","o":"It covers an area of 17.72 km2, which encompasses the ancient city and the hills to the south.","unc":"","by":"per cited source (see citation)","yr":"","m":"documentary: verbatim sentence auto-extracted from Wikipedia revision","c":"no inline ref in article","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Palenque&oldid=1377492791","b":"S","bb":"auto-extracted, Wikipedia rev 1377492791 (tertiary); unit/attribute classified by keyword - check context in value_original","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M1904"},{"f":"Temple of Inscriptions","a":"lid figure","v":"life size 165 cm","u":"cm","o":"","unc":"","by":"Wikipedia Temple of the Inscriptions","yr":"2026","m":"as stated","c":"Wikipedia Temple of the Inscriptions","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Temple_of_the_Inscriptions&oldid=1382420309","b":"S","bb":"","t":"MEASUREMENT","n":"","id":"M3651"},{"f":"Pakal","a":"reign","v":"~70 years (7th c.)","u":"text","o":"","unc":"","by":"Wikipedia Temple of the Inscriptions","yr":"2026","m":"derived","c":"Wikipedia Temple of the Inscriptions","pg":"","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Temple_of_the_Inscriptions&oldid=1382420309","b":"S","bb":"","t":"INTERPRETATION","n":"","id":"M3652"}],"lab":[{"k":"Materials","mat":"site material (as stated in article)","m":"documentary mention (Wikipedia, auto-extracted)","v":"* Picota and Michol Drainage Canals: A series of secondary stone-lined channels and holding tanks designed to regulate stream runoff from the southern limestone ridges, protecting the lower residential terraces from erosion during heavy tropical downpours.","by":"no inline ref in article","b":"S","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Palenque&oldid=1377492791"},{"k":"Materials","mat":"site material (as stated in article)","m":"documentary mention (Wikipedia, auto-extracted)","v":"According to archaeologist Arnoldo González Cruz, the Maya people symbolically shuttered the pool by breaking up some of the stucco and filling it with animal remains, including pottery fragments, carved bone remains, shells, obsidian arrowheads, beads, vegetables, and other items.","by":"no inline ref in article","b":"S","url":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Palenque&oldid=1377492791"}],"eng":[],"ori":[],"gaps":[],"dat":[],"aa":[{"id":"AA023","a":"lid depicts astronaut in rocket","who":"see anomaly_claims","main":"world-tree iconography","ms":"","st":"contradicted","n":"lid iconography; little metric data","nl":3}],"ac":[],"me":[],"ci":[{"who":"Erich von Daniken","med":"book","ep":"Chariots of the Gods? (Eng. pb, IA scan), ch.9 \"The Mysteries of South America and Other Oddities\" (TOC p.97)","v":"Maya edifices built according to the calendar","b":"S","s":["W17S17"]}],"cq":[],"sd":[],"sub":[],"site":{"age":"The Palenque ruins date from ca. 226 BC to ca. 799 AD.","dm":"[see dating_excerpt; method not extracted]","lab":"NO: inference only (style/context/king list/textual)","weak":"no direct lab result on the structure in our records; date from stylistic, contextual or textual inference","unesco":"https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/411","dens":"CENSUS"},"co":{"lat":"17.48416667","lon":"-92.04638889","src":"Wikidata P625 + UNESCO WHC list XML (agree ≤0.05°)","agree":"DISAGREE: primary 17.48417,-92.04639 vs OSM 17.45316,-91.81212","b":"V","note":"OSM top hit 0.234 deg away; likely a different feature/town match - kept primary value (prior VERIFIED from wave2 retained)","osm":"https://www.openstreetmap.org/relation/5999655"},"src":[{"id":"S0362","t":"no inline ref in article","u":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Palenque&oldid=1377492791"},{"id":null,"t":"Wikipedia Temple of the Inscriptions","u":"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Temple_of_the_Inscriptions&oldid=1382420309"},{"id":"W17S17","t":"von Daniken, Chariots of the Gods? English pb (Internet Archive OCR full text; saved prim/chariots_ia.txt)","u":"https://archive.org/download/chariots_of_the_gods/chariots_of_the_gods1_djvu.txt"},{"id":"S0569","t":"Wikipedia: Palenque","u":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palenque"},{"id":null,"t":"Wikipedia: Kʼinich Janaabʼ Pakal","u":"https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K%CA%BCinich_Janaab%CA%BC_Pakal"},{"id":"VMAM-011-6","t":"von Däniken, Chariots of the Gods: Unsolved Mysteries of the Past (Internet Archive)","u":"https://archive.org/details/erich-von-daniken-chariots-of-the-gods-unsolved-mysteries-of-the-past-pdfdrive"},{"id":"VMAM-011-7","t":"INAH boletin 372 (2023) tumba de Pakal","u":"https://inah.gob.mx/boletines/se-cumplen-71-anos-del-descubrimiento-de-la-tumba-de-pakal-el-grande-en-palenque"},{"id":"VMAM-011-8","t":"UNESCO World Heritage Centre: Pre-Hispanic City and National Park of Palenque","u":"https://whc.unesco.org/en/list/411/"},{"id":null,"t":"Evans, A., “Palenque: New Age,” National Geographic Travel.","u":"https://www.nationalgeographic.com/travel/article/palenque-new-age"},{"id":null,"t":"Wadjat, “King Pakal’s Spaceship” (ancient-astronaut website, cited only for its own view).","u":"https://www.wadjat.com/pakal-s-spaceship"}],"qs":["The lid's glyphs name Pakal and his ancestors. Does that settle what the image means?","Ruz used truck jacks and tree trunks. How did the Maya lower it in 683?","What else is under the 90% of Palenque not yet explored?"],"gal":[{"src":"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Palenque_Collage.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled","page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Palenque_Collage.jpg","title":"Palenque Collage.jpg","lic":"CC BY-SA 3.0","licurl":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0","by":"Ricraider","cap":"Collage of pictures taken from wikimedia commons to describe palenque in a few pictures"},{"src":"https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/001_El_Castillo_o_templo_de_Kukulkan._Chich%C3%A9n_Itz%C3%A1%2C_M%C3%A9xico._MPLC.jpg/1280px-001_El_Castillo_o_templo_de_Kukulkan._Chich%C3%A9n_Itz%C3%A1%2C_M%C3%A9xico._MPLC.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail","page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:001_El_Castillo_o_templo_de_Kukulkan._Chich%C3%A9n_Itz%C3%A1,_M%C3%A9xico._MPLC.jpg","title":"001 El Castillo o templo de Kukulkan. Chichén Itzá, México. MPLC.jpg","lic":"CC BY-SA 3.0","licurl":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0","by":"Manuel de Corselas","cap":"El Castillo o templo de Kukulkan. Chichén Itzá, México. Cultura maya."},{"src":"https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/69/Bas-relief_Maya_Classique_-_Palenque%2C_Mexique.jpg/1280px-Bas-relief_Maya_Classique_-_Palenque%2C_Mexique.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail","page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Bas-relief_Maya_Classique_-_Palenque,_Mexique.jpg","title":"Bas-relief Maya Classique - Palenque, Mexique.jpg","lic":"CC BY-SA 4.0","licurl":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0","by":"JackyM59","cap":"Bas-relief Maya Classique (600-900) qui forme un symbole de l’écriture maya.- Palenque, Mexique - Paris, musée du quai Branly – Jacques Chirac"},{"src":"https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6e/PalenqueAc.jpg/1280px-PalenqueAc.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail","page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:PalenqueAc.jpg","title":"PalenqueAc.jpg","lic":"Public domain","licurl":"","by":"Ricardo Almendáriz","cap":"Stucco relief at the Palace, Maya ruins at Palenque, as drawn by Ricardo Almendáriz at the time of the Del Rio expedition in 1787. On the right, a recent photo ","alt":"Stucco relief at the Palace, Maya ruins at Palenque, as drawn by Ricardo Almendáriz at the time of the Del Rio expedition in 1787. On the right, a recent photo"},{"src":"https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/Palenque_-_Grabschmuck_des_Pakal.jpg/1280px-Palenque_-_Grabschmuck_des_Pakal.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail","page":"https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Palenque_-_Grabschmuck_des_Pakal.jpg","title":"Palenque - Grabschmuck des Pakal.jpg","lic":"CC BY-SA 3.0","licurl":"https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0","by":"Wolfgang Sauber","cap":"Anthropological Museum of Mexico City. Funerary dress of king Pakal of Palenque ( 7th century )"}],"sum":"\"There sits a human being, with the upper part of his body bent forward like a racing motorcyclist; today any child would identify his vehicle as a rocket.\" Erich von Däniken wrote those words in Chariots of the Gods?, the 1968 best seller, about a carved stone in southern Mexico. He saw a pointed craft ending \"in a darting flame,\" a pilot working \"a number of indefinable controls,\" the heel of one foot on a kind of pedal. Few ancient carvings have been argued over by so many people who have never stood in front of them. It is the lid of a king's coffin, and it lies at the bottom of a stairway inside a pyramid at Palenque.\n\nPalenque is a Classic Maya city in the forests of the Mexican state of Chiapas, near the Usumacinta River and about 150 metres above sea level. Its ancient name was Lakamha', \"big water,\" for the springs and streams that run through it and for rainfall of more than 2,000 millimetres a year. UNESCO counts it among the finest sites of the Maya world. The site covers about 1,780 hectares, some 1,400 buildings have been recorded, and only about 10 per cent of the city has been explored. The ruins date from about 226 BC to about AD 799. UNESCO says it was founded in the Late Preclassic, probably by people who moved in from nearby sites, and by about AD 500 it was a powerful regional capital whose influence reached across the Usumacinta basin.\n\nIts builders had a light touch. They found ways to carry heavy stone roofs on thinner walls, which opened up wider rooms, more doorways and long galleries. Many roofs carry pierced stone crests that make the buildings look taller. The Palace, the largest complex, measures 97 by 73 metres at its base and has a four-storey tower. Water was the city's other art. The Otulum Aqueduct, a masonry tunnel more than 100 metres long under a vault 3 metres high, carries a river beneath the main plaza. In 2010 researchers from Pennsylvania State University, Christopher Duffy and Kirk French, identified another channel, the Piedras Bolas aqueduct, as a pressurised conduit, the earliest known in the New World: a spring-fed channel on steep ground with a narrow outlet that would force water out to a height of about 6 metres. They could not identify what it was for.\n\nThe city's most famous ruler was K'inich Janaab' Pakal, Pakal the Great. He came to power at 12, after his mother, Sak K'uk', stepped down from the throne, and reigned from 615 to 683, 68 years, though some sources round it to almost 70. He took over a city at a low point and left it at its height. In the last decade of his life he began his own funerary monument, the Temple of the Inscriptions, finished by his son K'inich Kan B'alam II shortly after 683. It is an eight-stepped pyramid with a temple on top, nine levels in all. The pyramid measures 60 by 42.5 metres and is 27.2 metres high. The temple takes its name from three tablets of hieroglyphs, 617 glyphs in all, one of the longest Maya inscriptions known, recording events of Pakal's life and ending with his death and the naming of his heir.\n\nPolitics runs all through those walls. Kan B'alam II finished the decoration, and the stucco piers outside show figures that seem to link him to his father, his grandmother and an ancestor who shared his name. A son was building a case for his own right to rule on his father's tomb.\n\nThe tomb itself stayed hidden for nearly 1,300 years, though the temple had been visited and studied for two centuries. In 1952 the Mexican archaeologist Alberto Ruz L'huillier lifted a slab in the floor of the temple's back room and found a stairway packed with rubble. Accounts differ on how long it took to clear: INAH, Mexico's national institute of anthropology and history, describes months of hard work; Wikipedia says two years; National Geographic speaks of four years of digging. Before reaching the chamber, the team found human remains coated in lime and cinnabar, a red mineral. Five skeletons, men and women, lay at the entrance of the crypt, sacrifices meant to follow the king. On 15 June 1952 the team freed the triangular slab that sealed the chamber, almost 20 metres below the top of the temple. No one had entered since 28 August 683, the day Pakal was laid there.\n\nInside, nine stucco figures of underworld gods line the walls. The vault was built with cross vaulting and recessed buttresses to bear the weight of the pyramid above. The coffin lid measures 3.80 by 2.20 metres and is 25 centimetres thick, carved with glyphs on its faces and edges. On 27 November 1952, in heavy heat and damp, the team raised it using truck jacks and tree trunks set at key points. Pakal lay under a jade mosaic mask, its eyes of shell, mother-of-pearl and obsidian, with the richest collection of jade seen in a Maya tomb.\n\nThe mainstream reading comes from the lid's own words and from the Maya images around it. INAH reads the texts as the story of Pakal's life and ancestors, six generations of them carved on the sarcophagus, and of his rebirth and rise to the heavens dressed as the maize god, emerging from the jaws of the Earth Monster. Above him rises the cosmic tree, drawn as a cross, with a celestial bird perched on top. Pakal lies between two worlds, the heavens and the underworld. National Geographic places von Däniken's rocket in the space-race years, when spacemen were on everyone's mind. The weakness of his reading is that it treats the image alone; the writing on the same stone speaks of ancestry and death.\n\nYet the tomb keeps a feature that the experts still describe carefully. A hollow stone duct, called the psychoduct, runs from the coffin up the stairway and through a hole in the slab at the entrance, connecting the sealed king to the temple above. It may stand for the Maya phrase used for death, the soul entering \"the white breath road.\" It has also been suggested that the duct lines up with the winter solstice, so that the sun shines down toward the tomb. And around it lies a city of which nine-tenths is still under forest.\n\nPicture the stairway the day the Maya left it: a king in jade at the bottom of a pyramid, the rubble poured in over the steps, the doors sealed, and through all that stone one narrow channel left open, running from the dark of the coffin up toward the light."},"img":null,"md":null,"hh":[{"v":"97 × 73","u":"m","h":"Base of the Palace, Palenque's largest building complex","s":[113]},{"v":"226 BC","h":"The Palenque ruins date from ca. 226 BC to ca. 799 AD","s":[113]},{"v":"Limestone","h":"Made of","s":[113]}],"hs":{"113":["Wikipedia: Palenque (and sources cited there)","https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Palenque"]},"lh":{"s":"img/h/MAM-011.webp","w":724,"h":1441,"o":"https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/90/Palenque_Collage.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled"}}