Chichen Itza
According to Diego De Landa, the first chronicler of colonial
Yucatan, the building called The Castle by the Spanish, was the
temple dedicated to Kukulcan god of the plumed serpent. The
temple encloses a completely covered sub-structure accessible
through a tunnel which was dug and strengthened by
archaeologists.
In the temple with two corridors in the sub-structure, one can
still admire, in their original locations, a "Chacmool"
and a feline shaped throne with colors and encrusted with green
stone and shells. The pyramid had a single stairway on the North
side.
The actual "castle" has nine parts with stairs on the
four sides. It's platform offers a splendid view of the
surroundings and the North plain of Yucatan. The temple consists
of one room, one antechamber, with the entry to the North, and
one gallery which surrounds the other sides. It's vaulted roof
rests on the origional wooden beams, carved with exquisite
Bas-Relief. Persons and traces of the polychromatic paintings
adorn the door jambs and pillars. Grotesque masks of stone mosaic
mark the faces.
There are researchers who attribute astronomical and calendar
significance to the number of architectonic elements, the
stairways and parts of the sub-structure. Others, attribute a
ritual sense to the projection of the shadows formed on the
balustrade of the main stairway at certain seasons of the year.
The Castle or "Castillo" is the highest building in the
Maya-Toltec style.
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