Temple IV is a Mesoamerican pyramidal temple in Tikal , in the north of Guatemala. This is one of the tallest and largest buildings of the Maya people [1] . Built around 741, it is located west of the central square [1] . At the temple there are two sakbe : one goes from the central square, and the other goes to the northeast [1] . Temple IV - the highest still-standing structure of the New World, built before Columbus, although the Teotihuacan Pyramid of the Sun could be higher in the past [2] . The architectural style of the temple IV as a whole is similar to other large temples of the city [2] .
| Sight | |
| Temple IV | |
|---|---|
 View crest roof | |
| A country |  Guatemala |
| Location | |
| Architectural style | |
| Founder | Ikin chan kavil |
| Founding date | 741 year |
| Height | 64.6 meters |
The temple was erected in honor of the rule of the 27th ruler of Tikal, Ikin-Chan-Kavil , although it could be built after his death, for burial [3] . One of the likely burial places of the body of Ikin-Chan-Kavil is located under the temple [4] . The sanctuary on the top of the pyramid faces east, right in front of it is Temple III , and behind it are the temples II and I [2] .
The participants in the “Tikal Project” of the University of Pennsylvania strengthened the ruins in 1964 and 1969, and also carried out small restoration activities at the sanctuary [1] . The national project "Tikal" ( Spanish Proyecto Nacional Tikal ) carried out an emergency repair of the building in the second half of the 1970s [1] .
Content
Pyramid
The pyramid stands on a rectangular base, the long side is directed from north to south [1] . The height of the temple from the platform to the top of the roof ridge is 64.6 meters [2] . It is estimated that 190,000 m³ of material went into construction [2] . The roof ridge has a height of 12.86 meters and has three levels, each of which has three rooms; on its front part there was a huge sculptural mosaic [1] . Earlier the comb was even higher [1] .
The first level of the pyramid measures 88 × 65 meters, and the last - 38.5 × 19.6 m. The pyramid is built on top of a huge two-level platform 144 × 108 meters. It was possible to climb it by a 44-meter ladder. The platform is very high quality and required a huge amount of building materials [5] . To the sanctuary on the upper level of the pyramid leads staircase width of 16.3 m; at the base of the sanctuary are an empty stela and an altar (stela 43 and altar 35) [5] . The sanctuary is partially restored, its walls are 12 meters thick. The platform that supports the sanctuary has a size of 33 × 20 meters and has an irregular shape. On it stands another, poorly preserved, platform with a height of 0.9 meters [1] .
Sanctuary
The size of the sanctuary is 31.9 × 12.1 meters, the maximum height without a ridge is 8.9 meters [5] . The outer walls of the sanctuary are vertical, unlike the other inclined [5] . The upper part of the outer walls forms a frieze , on which on the east side three huge stone mosaic masks were fortified [5] . The central mask was located directly above the entrance, and the other two were on the sides [5] .
One by one in the sanctuary there are three rooms, separated by doorways with carved wooden lintels of sapodilla [6] . These rooms are the only available rooms in the temple [5] . The first lintel has no thread, and the second and third are artfully decorated [2] . In 1877, Gustav Bernoulli removed them from his seat, and they are now stored in the in Switzerland [2] . Wood carving was performed outside the temple, finished lintels were brought to the temple and installed on openings. The task was complicated by the fact that the sapodilla wood is very heavy (1120 kg / m³) [7] . The roof and roofing ridge were installed after the ceiling cover [7] .
According to the inscriptions on lintels, the temple was built in 741, as evidenced by radiocarbon analysis (720 ± 60 years) [7] .
Chute number 3 has a size of 1.76 × 2.05 meters, the thread is a bas-relief [8] . It depicts Ikin-Chan-Kavil, sitting on a stretcher under the arch of a heavenly serpent. Pritolok is designed to remind of the victory of Ikin-Chan-Kavil over the state of El-Peru in 743 [9] . It has 64 signs of Maya writing [8] .
Notes
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Morales, 2008 , p. 421.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Coe 1988 , p. 80
- ↑ Sharer & Traxler, 2006 , p. 304, 403.
- ↑ Sharer & Traxler, 2006 , p. 417.
- ↑ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Morales, 2008 , p. 422.
- ↑ Coe, 1988 , p. 80-81.
- ↑ 1 2 3 Coe, 1988 , p. 81.
- ↑ 1 2 Rubio, 1992 , p. 189.
- ↑ Martin & Grube, 2000 , p. 49.
Literature
- Coe, William R. Tikal: Guía de las Antiguas Ruinas Mayas: [ isp. ] . - Guatemala: Piedra Santa, 1988. - ISBN 84-8377-246-9 .
- Martin, Simon. Chronicle of the Maya Kings and Queens: Deciphering the Dynasties of the Ancient Maya. - London and New York: Thames & Hudson, 2000. - ISBN 0-500-05103-8 .
- Morales, Tirso; Benito Burgos; Miguel Acosta; Sergio Pinelo; Marco Tulio Castellanos; Leopoldo González; Francisco Castañeda; Edy barrios; Rudy Larios; Cruz Jau. Trabajos Realizados de la Unidad de Arqueología del Parque Nacional Tikal, 2006-2007. (Spanish) // XXI Simposio de Arqueología en Guatemala, 2007 (edited by JP Laporte, B. Arroyo and H. Mejía): diario. - Guatemala: Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología, 2008. - P. 413-436 . Archived September 14, 2011.
- Pérez de Lara, Jorge. A Brief History of the Rediscovery of Tikal and Archaeological Work at the Site . Mesoweb. The appeal date is June 22, 2011.
- Rubio, Rolando R. Análisis iconografico and epigrafico del Dintel 3 del Templo IV de Tikal, Guatemala. (Spanish) // IV Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, 1990 (edited by JP Laporte, H. Escobedo and S. Brady): diario. - Guatemala: Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología, 1992. - p . 189–198 . Archived September 14, 2011.
More
- Ponciano, Erick; Jari López; Nicte Mazariegos; José Maria Anavisca. Arquitectura monumental en la dedicación de templos dinasticos, Templo IV, Tikal, Petén. (Spanish) // Simposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala: diario. - Guatemala City, Guatemala: Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes, Instituto de Antropología e Historia and Asociación Tikal, 2012. - V. XXV (2011) . - P. 905-909 . Archived November 3, 2014.