Did you know that...

  • For the past 250 years Palenque's ruined buildings, of truly harmonious proportions, and abundant inscriptions have captured the scientists' attention and motivated intense research?
  • Palenque is -without a doubt- one of Maya archaeology's most interesting chapters?
  • We must also say that fantasy and modern science coexist alongside each other here, drawing hundreds of visitors to Palenque, on very different types of quests…
  • An important number of people from different esotheric traditions consider Palenque to be a place of special magnetism with cosmic functions?
  • Scientists dig deeper into the tunnels and make fantastic discoveries as they try to achieve a more profound understanding of the people who lived here?
  • Their finds are equally fascinating and mind-boggling secrets that lay hidden under the slabs of stone and buildings at Palenque come to light...
  • We may rightfully say that some of their findings are even more fabulous than those fabricated by an inspired imagination, such as the tomb where K'inich Janaab' Pakal was buried dated on the 7th Century AD?
  • In its heyday Palenque was one of the most important Classic Maya sites (between 250 and 900 AD)?
  • As in every Maya archaeological site what is visible to the public today is what archaeologists call the "last occupation"?
  • What we can see in Palenque is what is left of the central part and around 10% of the original city, but only a small part of it perhaps, built mostly during the seventh century AD by rulers Hanab Pakal and Chan Bahlum?
  • The square tower at The Palace was reconstructed in 1930? It was quite unique and nobody really knows for sure what it was for... Perhaps it was a look-out post? Perhaps an astronomical observatory?
  • The narrow staircase inside the tower starts only at the second level?  
  • The rectangular monolithic sepulchral lid that covered the sarcophagus within the Temple of the Inscriptions is 3.80 meters long by 2.20 meters wide and 0.25 meters thick?
  • That it has impressive designs carved on it and that these carvings represent Pakal?
  • The site was first discovered in the late XVIIth century? However, excavation and restoration at Palenque didn't start until about 100 years ago...
  • That restoration continues to this day under the supervision of the Proyecto Palenque, also known as the Proyecto Grupo de las Cruces?
  • There are several stone and stucco examples of true portraiture that were molded or sculpted at Palenque, which means that the real features of the characters that appear on the sculptures are shown with striking realism?
  • Similarly, there were several members of Palenque's lineage, including Lord Shield Pacal, Pacal, Chan Bahlum, and Lady Zac Kuk, whose physical deformities seem to have been included among these true portraits' realistic features?
  • These include a few examples of polydactylism (having six toes in a foot or 6 fingers instead of 5) and acromegaly? (Acromegaly is a disorder of the pituitary gland, also known as pituitary adenoma. Depending on the person's age when the gland malfunctions, people either display extraordinary long bone formations or cysts on their foreheads, among other features...)
  • Pacal's characteristic big nose may have well been a symptom of acromegaly and it progressed through time, in other words, his nose grew a little at a time and between portraits?
  • The rulers who ordered the construction of buildings in Palenque where somewhat obsessed with the East... Isn't it curious that the most important buildings at Palenque all face east? The Palace is 16 degrees east, the Temple of the Sun 25 degrees east, The Temple of the Cross 30 degrees east, The Temple of the Foliated Cross is 35 degrees east and the Forgotten Temple is facing 15 degrees to the east?
  • Radiocarbon dating revealed the oldest date for Palenque discovered so far on 162 AD within House E (within the Palace) and another was found in Building F revealilng a date between 191- 270 AD. This is strange as House E was build by Pacal in 635 AD, so how can this be? Builiding F is also very late, so this is somewhat mysterious...
  • There are 3 groups of constructions at Palenque: the oldest one is formed by 7 buildings, which are the Temple of the Count, the North Group, Temple X, The Ballcourt, the filling on the Temple of the Inscriptions, the Palace Undergrounds and the Forgotten Temple, then the second group is formed by 15 buildings, which form the Palace…The third group are the 3 buildings that make up the Cross Group...

½ Index ½ Info ½ Arts ½ Sciences ½ Travel ½ Palenque Map ½ Contact Us ½