Elevation of Palace Corridor.
The doorway through the central wall at c, is eighteen feet high, and its top, instead of being flat like those in the outer wall, takes the form of a trefoil arch; depressions, or niches, of the same trefoil form, extend at regular intervals right and left from the doorway along the inclined face of the ceiling. The last cut gives a clear idea of the doorway and trefoil niches, but the artist who copied it from Catherwood's plate for Morelet's Travels, from which I take it, has erred in representing the niches as continuing downward on the perpendicular wall. Near the top of the perpendicular wall was a line of what seem to have been circular stucco medallions, perhaps portraits, at d, d, d, of the plan, which have for the most part fallen. Small circular holes, apparently left by the decay of beams that once stretched across the arch, occur at regular intervals between the niches of the ceiling. The cut shows a front elevation of the corridor from e of the plan looking eastward, and includes all the peculiarities found in any part of the corridors. The position of the medallions is shown, though they are really on the opposite side of the wall, and the shaded figures on the left of the cut are introduced from other parts of the Palace, to illustrate the different forms of niches which occur in the walls. The niches on the right are in their proper place. The three which are symmetrically placed at each side of this and some other doorways, are from eight to ten inches square, and have a cylinder two inches in diameter fixed upright within each. They would seem to have served in some way to support the doors. The
shaped niches are of very frequent occurrence throughout the ruins, and have caused much speculation by reason of their resemblance to the Egyptian tau and to the cross. Some of them extend quite through the walls, and served probably for ventilation and the admission of light. Others of the same shape are of varying depths and of unknown use; they may have been niches for the reception of small idols, or possibly designed to hold the torches which lit up the corridors, since M. Waldeck claims to have found the marks of lamp-black on the tops of some of them.[VI-20] Nothing remains to be said of the corridors of the main building, save that the interior like the exterior surface of the walls bears traces of red paint over the coating of plaster in certain sheltered portions.[VI-21]
COURT OF THE PALACE.
Passing through the doorway e we enter the court 1, the dimensions of which are about seventy by eighty feet, its pavement, like that of the other courts, being eight or ten feet below that of the corridors. This pavement is covered to a depth of several feet with débris, which has never been entirely cleared away by any explorer. The court is bounded on the north and east by the walls, or piers, of the inner corridor, and on the south and west by those of the interior buildings C and D. The piers, whose position and number are clearly indicated on the plan, are, except those on the north, yet standing, and each has its stucco bas-relief as on the eastern front. These reliefs are, however, much damaged, and no drawings of them have been made, or, at least, published. Broad stairways of five or six steps lead down to the level of the court pavement, at g, g, g, g, and a narrow stairway, h, affords access through an end door to the building E.[VI-22]
Sculptured Group in the Palace Court.