Palenque, a Mayan treasure

Obscured by a canopy of jungle foliage in the southern part of Mexico, this splendid city lay hidden for a thousand years. Mayan hunters mentioned a city in ruins to a Spanish priest in 1773 but it wasn’t until the 1830’s that serious exploration and excavations began. The eccentric Count de Waldeck lived atop one of the temples for two years (1830-33) while writing a book with fanciful sketches but it wasn’t until the arrival of John L. Stephens and the artist Frederick Catherwood four years later that the full glory of this site became known. His descriptions of the first six pyramids he excavated represent the first serious investigation, which opened the way for later archeologists. Alberto Ruz Lhuillier, the famous Mexican explorer, is buried on the site, close by where he found Pakal’s secret crypt in 1952.

Today, only a few dozen or so of Palenque’s estimated 500 buildings have been uncovered. The grounds are neat and a lush carpet of grass outlines the skyscrapers of the Mayan world. It wasn’t always this way: the city dates back some 1500 years but it wasn’t until the reign of Pakal, a club-footed king who ruled from 615 A.D to 683 A.D that the glory began. Massive fire-engine red-colored steep-sided temples were built without metal tools or the wheel: an incredible engineering feat of creating an aqueduct under the largest temple was accomplished and the tower that stands above all this was oriented for the winter solstice. Palenque (the Spanish word for palisade) might have been known by other Mayan names, Nachan or Chocan: no one knows for sure but those were serpent references. The ceremonial ball court stands empty, with only the echoes of the past blowing in the evening breeze: no stone rings were found so it is assumed that wooden versions were used.
 

What is known is that the city was a powerful stronghold holding its own against rivals such as Tikal and Calakmul. With the death of the 83 year old Pakal, his son Chan-Balam (Snake-Jaguar) took up the reins of kingship but this was the beginning of the end. More temples were built to honor his father but the decline had set in and by the end of the tenth century, the city was abandoned. History doesn’t explain the reasons why: drought, wars and civil unrest have been mentioned but the real explanation lies perhaps hidden under some temple yet to be uncovered. The end of this city-state didn’t wait for 2012: it was written in hieroglyphs that Pakal’s rule was predicted for thousands of years and would be known of for many years in the future and that part is true. His well hidden tomb was rich and the jade death-mask spectacular. The jeweled remains and mask were eventually removed to the Museo Nacional de Antropologia in Mexico City, where the priceless jade artifact was stolen in 1985. Its whereabouts remain unknown, to this day. The site is serene and spectacular: one can only imagine the glory and the scenes of powerful Mayan lords and their people celebrating in the moonlight or waiting for the sun to rise again. The stone altars are worn and stained by time, as they once were by the blood of sacrificial offerings: the crowds would have cheered. In the end, time and the jungle won.