(;ii,\r. II. MEXICAN.

49
ste])s leads to tlie tninc.it(.'(l pyramid. Like all the .Alexican tecnUis, it is composed of
stages, six whereof are still distinguishable, ai)d a seventh ajipears to be concealed by tlie
vegetation with which its sides are covered. The facing of tiie stories is ornamented
with hieroglyphics, in which serpents and crocodiles, carved in relievo, are discernible.
Each story contains a great number of square niches symmetrically distril)uted. ]n the
Krst story twenty-four are on each side; ni the second, twenty; and in the third, sixteen,
'i'he number of these niches in the body of the pyramid is ^66, and there are twelve in the
stairs towards the east.
114. The military intrenchment of Xocliiculco, near Tetlama, two leagues south-west
of Cuernavaca, is another remarkable ancient moninnent. It is an insulated hill, 370 ft.
high, surrounded with ditches or trenches, and divided by the hand of man into five terraces
covered with masonry. The whole has the appearance of a truncated pyramid, whereof
the four faces are in the cardinal points of the compass. The masonry is of ])orphvry, very
regularly cut, and adorned witli hieroglyphics; among which are to be seen a crocodile
spouting ii|) water, and men sitting cross-legged after the Asiatic fashion. On the plat-
form, which is very large, is a small scpuire edifice, which was most probably a teni))le.
1 1.5. Though the province of Oaxaca contains no monuments of ancient Aztec architec-
ture, which astonish l>y their colossal dimensions, like the bouses of the gods of Choluhi,
I'aiKintla, and Teotihuacan, it ))ossesses the ruins of edifices remarkable for their symmetry
and the elegance of their ornaments. The antiquity of them is imknown. In the district
of Oaxaca, south of Mexico, stands the palace of Mif/a, contracted from Mij/iiif/aii, signi-
fying, ill Aztec, the place i
if
woe. By the Tzapotec Indians the ruins are called liohn, or It/irti
'burial, or tomb), alluding to the excavations found beneath the walls. It is conjectured to
have been a palace constructed over the tombs of the kings, for retirement, on the death of
a relation. The tombs of Mitla are three edifices, ])laced symmetrically in a very romantic
situation. That in the best jjreservation, and, at the same time, the priiici])al one, is nearly
l:U) ft. long. A staircase, formed in a (lit, leads to a subterranean a|)artment, 88 ft. in
length, and 26 ft. in width. This, as well as the exterior jjart of the edifice, is decorated
with fret, and other ornaments of similar character (y/r/. 79.). But the most singidar
r; y
'\ feature in these ruins, as com-
'^.
^
J V-^^ ,j
--5
pared with other Mexican
i^Zri^-.^'*^r^'' ^-hip^^^s^ jJ^P-s^^:^-^ architecture, was the discoverv
ofsix porphyry columns, placed
for the su])port of a ceiling, in
the midst of a vast hall. 'J'hey
.are almost tlie only ones which
have been frund in the new
continent, and exhibit strong
marks of the infancy of the
art, having neither base nor ca-
pital. The U])per ))art slightly
diminishes. 'I'lieir total height
is 19 ft., in single blocks of
porphyry. 'l"he ceiling under
Fiy. T'J. OKXAMKNrS AT TilK P-M.AtK OK Mill.A. 1 1
'
.'l I J
whicli tliey were |)laced was
formed by beams of Savine wood, and three of them are still in good preservation. The
roof is of very large slabs. 'l"he number of se))arate buildings was originallv five, and
tliey were disjiosed with great regularity. The gate, whereof some vestiges are still dis-
cernible, led to a court 150 ft. square, which, from the rubbish and remains of subter-
ranean apartments, it is supjiosed was surrounded by four oblong edifices. That on the
right is tolerably preserved, the remains of two columns being still in existence, 'i'he ])riii-
cipal bulUling had a terrace, raised between three and four feet above the level of the court,
and serving as a base to the walls it surrounds. In the wall is a niche, with pillars, four or
five feet above the level of the floor. The stone lintel, over the iirincijial door of the hall,
is in a single block,
1 '_' ft. long and .3 "ft. dee]). The excavation is reached by a very wide
staircase, and is in tlie form of a cross, supported by columns. The two portions of it,
which intersect each other at right angles, are each 82 ft. long by 25 ft wide. The inner
court is surrounded by three small a])artments, having no communication with the
fourth, which is behind the niche. The interiors of the ajiartments are decorated with
paintings of weajions, sacrilices, and trophies. Of windows there are no traces. IIumbt)l(it
was struck with the resemblance of some of the ornaments to those on the Etruscan vases
of Lower Italy. In the neiglibourhood of these ruins are tlie remains of a large pyramid,
and other buildings.
116. Li the intendency of Sonora, which lies north-west of the city of IMexico, and in
the Gulf of California, on the banks of the Rio Gila, are some remarkable ruins, known by
the name of the Qisii Cnuide. Tliey stand in the middle of the vestiges of an ancient Aztic
i:ity. The sides are in the direction of the four cardinal points, and are 445 fJ from norlli
E
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