“The whole massive structure is an unsolved mystery. Over the doorway of a small, dim chamber in the southeastern part of the building is a carved lintel on which is depicted in bas-relief the seated figure of a priest or a god, wearing a feathered head-dress and with a long nose-plug protruding from the nostrils. The figure is seated on a throne and holds in its hand the ceremonial caluac or baton of rank. In front of the figure, at its feet, is a graceful brazier containing what was probably a burnt offering of some sort—copal or incense. On each side of this well-carved picture are double rows of hieroglyphs, the meaning of which is unknown. There are no other carvings, glyphs, or pictures in the entire building. This fact is hard to understand, because these ancient builders usually inscribed every available surface. In one room is a large depression in the floor, and in the center of the building is what appears to be a solid mass of masonry forty-four by thirty feet and reaching clear to the ceiling. Perhaps it contains hidden and secret chambers; that remains to be found out.
“Of one thing, however, I am reasonably sure: the carved lintel was not inscribed nor originally designed for its present position, but was taken bodily from some earlier structure, probably one of the now leveled temples of the older Chi-chen Itza. It represents the period of the highest Mayan art, which occurred before the domination of the Nahuatls, who swept down from the north some centuries later. I believe this building was not erected until after the abandonment of Chi-chen Itza, the long residence at Chan Kan Putun, the return to Chi-chen Itza, and the enslavement of the Mayas by the Nahuatls. Very likely it is the most recently built of all the present monuments in the city, and the one carved piece in it, the lintel, was taken from an older building without reference to the significance of the glyphs. From this lintel is derived the name of the temple, for Akab Tzib means literally ‘House of the Writing in the Dark.’
“Leaving Akab Tzib, we walk for the distance of a city block or so through dense shrubbery and over an old stone fence, built perhaps eighty years ago, and come to a most interesting building called La Casa de las Monjas or the Nunnery. It is what might be called rambling, yet is of exquisite architectural harmony and richly ornamented, in utter contrast to the building we have just left. It is one of the most wonderfully carved edifices of this old civilization to be found anywhere in Yucatan. It spreads out for an eye-filling distance of two hundred and twenty-eight feet, the center part of the huge pile rising for nearly ninety feet, in three separate tiers, each smaller than the one below it. Stretching away on each side of this center portion are one- and two-story annexes.
The Nunnery, the only three-storied structure in the Sacred City.
The second story of the Nunnery.
All that remains of the third story of the Nunnery. Several inscribed stones built hit or miss into the wall were doubtless taken from the older city.
“How well its name fits this grimly beautiful old building is a matter of conjecture. We know that the Maya priesthood was dominant in all matters and that the lives of the people seem to have been governed by a constant devotion to their pantheon of gods and especially to the all-great Kukul Can. Their ceremonies were numerous and elaborate. Doubtless there were many priests and perhaps priestesses. Long training must have been required in the amazing and intricate rituals. And the ancient historians relate that it was the custom to sequester certain girls or women belonging to religious orders. It is not unlikely that this vast building of many rooms and annexes, which seems more fitted to be a place of residence than a temple, may have been the abode of Mayan monks or nuns, or possibly a training school for novitiates. Some believe it to have been the king’s palace.