From a further description, it appears that this peculiar wood was brought from a distance of three hundred miles. Waldeck says, that it is more durable than lignum vitæ, and is called by the natives jovillo. The strength of this wood is thus shewn by Mr. Stephens:
"The position of these lintels was most trying, as they were obliged to support a solid mass of stone wall, fourteen or sixteen feet high, and three or four feet in thickness."
From a calculation of the measurements around the base of the principal terrace, or pyramidal elevation, the entire distance is two thousand five hundred and sixty feet. The Temple, which stands upon a third terrace, is fronting to the East,—i. e. to the rising Sun,—the chief object of Worship.
"In the centre [of the Temple], and opposite the range of steps leading to the terrace, are three principal doorways. The middle one is eight feet six inches wide, and eight feet ten inches high; the others are of the same height, but two feet less in width. The centre door opens into an apartment sixty feet long, and twenty-seven feet deep [wide], which is divided into two corridors by a wall three and a half feet thick, with a door of communication between, of the same size with the door of entrance. The plan is the same as that of the Corridor in front of the Palace (?) of Palenque, except that here the Corridor does not run the whole length of the building, and the back Corridor has no door of egress. The ceiling forms a triangular Arch, without the Key-stone, as at Palenque."
The term "triangular Arch" cannot be admitted by the language of Architecture; he might as well have written triangular semicircle, terms distinctly opposed to each other. It is essential to notice this inaccuracy here, otherwise the reader may be under the erroneous impression, that the Arch does exist in the ancient Ruins in America,—this is not the fact; but the entire absence of the Arch, or its principle, enables us to form an Architectural conclusion in reference to their identity; and the fact, that the Arch does not exist in any of the Ruins of Ancient America, cannot be too forcibly impressed upon the reader's mind; for it demonstrates that these buildings were erected before the Arch was known, and as a consequence, is a direct proof of their great antiquity. Mr. Stephens has already written in reference to Palenque, and previously quoted, "The builders were evidently ignorant of the principles of the Arch."
"The ceiling, &c.: but, instead of the rough stones overlapping or being covered with stucco, (as at Palenque) the layers of stones are bevilled as they rise, and present an even and a polished surface. Throughout, the laying and the polishing of the stones are as perfect as under the rules of the best modern masonry. In this apartment we determined to take up our abode, and under a roof, tight as when sheltering the heads of its former occupants." * * * * * "We were not buried in the forest as at Palenque. From every part of the terrace we looked over a field of ruins." * * * * "From the centre apartment, the divisions on each wing corresponded exactly in size and finish; and the same uniformity was preserved in the ornaments. Throughout, the roof was tight, and the apartments were dry. In one apartment, the walls were coated with a very fine plaister of Paris, (?) equal to the best seen on walls in this country. (United States) The rest were all of smooth polished stone. There were no paintings, stucco ornaments, Sculptured tablets, or other decoration whatever."
Mr. Stephens then relates the finding in a ruined Chamber, of "A beam of wood, (i. e. the jovillo) about ten feet long, and very heavy, which had fallen from its place over the doorway. On the face was a line of characters carved or stamped (?) almost obliterated, but which we made out to be hieroglyphics; and so far as we could understand them similar to those at Copan and Palenque. I cannot help deploring the misfortune of not being assured of the safety of this beam. By what feeble light the pages of American History are written! There are at Uxmal no Idols as at Copan,—not a single stuccoed figure, or carved tablet, as at Palenque. Except this beam of hieroglyphics, though searching earnestly, we did not discover any one absolute point of resemblance."
The hieroglyphics of all the ruins bind them together as one People; the difference in the finish of the edifices, and their varied states of preservation, at once point to different ages in which they were erected. A principal ornament at equi-distances in the outward cornice is important, and is thus described by Stephens, and strictly agrees with the folio work by Waldeck.
"It is the face of a death's-head, with wings expanded, and rows of teeth projecting, in effect somewhat like the figure of a death's-head on tombstones with us. It is two feet across the wings, and has a stone staple about two feet long, by which it was fastened to the wall."