Las Monjas

The building is located on a platform that it shares with the Caracol and numerous smaller buildings. It has undergone a large number of structural changes and is therefore likely to become one of the most complex part in Chichén Itzá. A very extensive excavations by the Carnegie Institution of Washington was held in the years 1933 and 1934, instead, headed by John S. Bolles.

The building seems to consists of two interrelated parts do not exist: from the eastern part, which is usually referred to as the Annex, and a high platform with far stairs from the north, leading to a building on the second floor, over which the remains of another floor with upstream steps are visible.

The actual construction history is different: In the beginning, a simple platform was high, with rounded corners, a little over 2nbsp; m, with a projecting stair from the south. This platform is now visible only in the large hole caused by collapse of the western part of the complex. Subsequently, this platform has been increased to approximately twice and built on their surface an existing one room building with three north-facing door openings. South of the platform has now built the wing, known as Annex. It originally consisted of 13 rooms, made up of three parallel rows, and a final, transverse space in the east. The middle row was entered by the area lying to the south rooms. The room had passes to the adjacent areas of the outer rooms, and a small side door to the outside.

End-space and space arrangement with the decor of the facade to make it clear that had shifted the focus of the building after the lie to the east yard. While the lower wall surface of the northern and southern facades are kept simple in form between the doors of different widths fields with stones cross the only jewelry that are the building corner and the entire facade in the East fully decorated. The upper wall surface of the northern and southern ways differently designed Chac masks on, as well as fields with diagonally set stones and rosettes. The friezes of these sites are kept relatively simple.

The pictorial program of the show site around the eastern entrance of combined motifs from the entire northern Maya area: All around the front door are arranged the teeth of a snake foot entrance. But it is only an eclectic quote - for a complete lack of foot snake eyes and noses above the door along with nose ring on the sides. In their place, flat Chac masks arranged in a double cascade. The identical masks are also found on the upper wall surface. At the corners the same masks appear in the corner form, as a whole are also shown on page 12 of these masks. Above the door sits in an oval frame, step outside the square scrolls, the figure of a ruler with a large feather headdress. It stems perhaps from the ruler, who in this building on seven stone doorpost, under the date of the 8th February 880 has immortalized.

The building rests on an unusually high base, which is a simple Gesimsband completed Fiederform. The median Gesimsband that jumps up to make room for the pseudo-foot snake jumps in, there has 5 horizontal bands: a plait, a band that reflects a differently designed plait, a sleek element on a number of ik characters the other by a smooth, narrow band seem to hang. The upper frieze has only four elements: two smooth above that a deeper field with sloping stones frame, and above the usual inclined to the front end protruding stones, is inserted into the intervals motive another, reminiscent of the Mixtec years makers mark.

If the above dates in the year 880 indicate the completion of this wing, it was the beginning of the 10th Century, the high platform enhanced so that arose before the building is now broad platform. This extension covered the three western areas of the building on the ground floor, which were demolished for this purpose either largely or filled with rubble masonry. This extended platform but did not have enough space for an expansion of the building in the 1st Floor, which made a renewed increase in the platform is required. In the next three areas (were seen from the east) are lost, which were below the platform. They too were filled with rubble for structural reasons. The upper platform, which was now clearly visible on the outside, was provided with alternating round stone mosaic decor.

Thus the condition for the final shape of the upper details of building was given: the open space originally building was expanded to eight rooms, six of which were parallel to each other (a large medium with three inputs and two smaller rooms) at the sides, while on the eastern and western ends were ever a room. The façade shows large areas with slightly deeper stones diagonally across the width and set with four fret on the sides. The upper wall surface is inclined slightly inwards. Before the north facade has been served up a staircase that led to a small building to the next level. The stairs do not skip over the facade with a Mayacave, but with a flat slab of stone blocks. The top building was bare and had only one room, however, found relief decorations on the last stair.

In an unclear connection with extensions of the high platforms and the remaining two interiors were filled with debris, were removed with portions of the vault. However, in extending the inputs left blank spaces to the middle narrow, blind-ending ducts, formed in the later period of attack for plunder graves.