Features of the Tomb of Pakal
The Tomb of Pakal the Great is located in the spectacular ruined Mayan city of Palenque, in Yucatan, Mexico. Lord Pakal the Great, also known as K'inich Janaab' Pakal, was born on 23 March 603, and succeeded to the throne on 29 July 615, at the young age of 12. He was to rule for the next 68 years, in the latter years of Mayan Classic Period (AD 250-900), and was responsible for transforming Palenque into powerful and prosperous city.
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History of The Tomb
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It is thought that he began to construct the Temple of Inscriptions, which houses his tomb around AD 675, and he died eight years later on 31 August 683, at the impressive age of 80. The tomb was discovered by Alberto Ruz Lhuillier in 1952, and the inscriptions detailing Pakal's name, meaning "Shield," were translated by David Kelley and Floyd Lounsbury.
Construction and Dimensions
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The Tomb of Pakal is larger than the entrance to the chamber in which it is housed, so it is assumed that the tomb was built prior to the surrounding pyramid. Pakal's tomb was constructed from limestone, and is shaped roughly to the shape of his body. It was sealed with a stone cover that measures approximately 3.8m-by-2.2m.
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Sealing the Sarcophagus
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The crypt where the Tomb of Pakal is located was, following the completion of the burial rites, originally sealed by a layer of stucco. Five or six sacrificed victims were then laid in the temple's small ante-chamber. Following this, the temple was filled with jade, pottery, shell, offerings and rubble.
Stone Airshaft
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The room that houses the Tomb of Pakal possesses a stone airshaft, also called a "psychoduct," which was built starting at a notch in the funeral chamber door and rising rises to the upper floor of the temple. It has been suggested that the shaft was built to enable a mythological serpent to rise from Pakal's sarcophagus to the place inhabited by his descendants.
Decoration
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There is a pictorial representation of the instant of Pakal's death, and his subsequent fall in to the underworld, on the sarcophagus' lapidary stone. A skyband, representing a strip of heaven, frames the entire scene. Kin (day or the Sun) is represented in the upper right, and Akbaal (darkness or night) is seen on the far left corner. The Sun's movement from east to west represents Pakal's passage through life into death.
Restrictions
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Unfortunately, it is no longer possible to enter the original Tomb of Pakal in Palenque. Instead, a reproduction has been produced in the museum in Palenque, with another in Mexico City.
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References
- Photo Credit Jupiterimages/Photos.com/Getty Images
