The Temple of the Inscriptions is a major funerary monument at Palenque. Its recorded statistics range from a construction period of almost 12 years to a height of approximately 30 metres, while its inner burial chamber sits 1.45 metres below plaza level. The measurements and dates below are reported by the cited studies and source accounts, with the relevant measurement period or historical date kept explicit.
Contents
- At a glance
- Construction dates and orientation
- Dimensions and levels
- Burial chamber and sarcophagus
- Mausoleum layout and excavation
- Glyphs, dates, and construction history
- Kings named in the texts
At a glance
The following figures provide a compact numerical profile of the monument. The construction dates are historical dates, while the dimensions describe the surviving structure and spaces reported in the cited research.
| Measure | Reported figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Construction began | 675 CE | npj Heritage Science (2026) |
| Completion | Around 690 CE | npj Heritage Science (2026) |
| Base, north-south | 35 m | npj Heritage Science (2026) |
| Base, east-west | 55 m | npj Heritage Science (2026) |
| Approximate height | 30 m | npj Heritage Science (2026) |
| Levels above plaza | 9 | npj Heritage Science (2026) |
| Burial chamber depth | 1.45 m below plaza | npj Heritage Science (2026) |
| Life-size stucco figures | 9 | npj Heritage Science (2026) |
| Eaves glyphs originally | 44 | The Tomb of K’inich Janaab Pakal, Mesoweb (2007) |
| Eaves glyphs remaining in place | 6 | The Tomb of K’inich Janaab Pakal, Mesoweb (2007) |
These figures should be read as reported measurements and historical interpretations, not as a modern independent survey. The cited Mesoweb account is a legacy research source whose statements are presented here as reported rather than independently verified.
Construction dates and orientation
According to npj Heritage Science (2026), construction began in 675 CE under Pakal. The same source places completion around 690 CE, under K’inich Kan B’alam II, Pakal’s successor. This gives the monument a historical construction span of roughly 15 calendar years when the two rounded milestone dates are compared, although the more precise construction interpretation from Mesoweb describes the inferred period as almost exactly 12 years.
The Temple of the Inscriptions is oriented north-south, with a 21-degree deviation to the east. That orientation is a useful planning detail for understanding the building’s relationship to the plaza and surrounding structures. The temple also stands about 60 metres west of the Otulum stream.
The wider pre-Hispanic city around the temple contained more than 50 springs and perennial streams that archaeologists identify as having been modified by engineering works. This wider water-management figure concerns the city around the monument rather than the temple building alone. Two quarries have been identified at the site, and the closest quarry lies south of the temple near Structure XXVI.
The Mesoweb account, The Tomb of K’inich Janaab Pakal (2007), provides a more detailed chronological reading of the inscriptions. It places an earlier date in the eaves text between 17 December 676 and 6 January 677. The 819-day calendar position corresponds to Long Count 9.12.16.2.2 and to 18 May 688. The Initial Series date was narrowed to a range from 14 December 688 to 3 January 689.
Pakal died in August 683, about five and a half years into the construction process described by that account. K’inich Kan B’alam II then spent another five years finishing the construction and decoration. These dates help explain why the monument is associated with both rulers: the project began under Pakal and was completed under his successor.
Dimensions and levels
The temple measures 35 metres north-south at its base and 55 metres east-west at its base, according to npj Heritage Science (2026). Its approximate height is 30 metres. The base is therefore wider east-west than north-south, and the monument rises through nine levels from the plaza floor.
| Structural measurement | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| North-south base length | 35 m | npj Heritage Science (2026) |
| East-west base length | 55 m | npj Heritage Science (2026) |
| Approximate height | 30 m | npj Heritage Science (2026) |
| Levels from plaza floor | 9 | npj Heritage Science (2026) |
| Rear gallery floor above outer gallery | 15 cm | Ancient Mesoamerica (2022) |
The building is supported by a rectangular, two-stepped platform. Its north-facing facade has five doorways. Those five openings are separated by large piers decorated with stucco reliefs, and a central stairway with large sculptured alfardas, or ramps, leads up the facade.
The Temple of the Inscriptions is the easternmost structure in a mausoleum project that also includes Temple XIII, a stepped platform building between the two, Temple XII-A, and Temple XII. This grouping places the building within a broader funerary architectural complex rather than treating it as an isolated structure.
Burial chamber and sarcophagus
The burial chamber lies 1.45 metres below plaza floor level. It measures 8.86 metres north-south, 3.71 metres east-west, and 6.53 metres high, according to npj Heritage Science (2026). Nine life-size stucco figures were modeled on the chamber walls around Pakal’s sarcophagus.
The sarcophagus block measures 3.0 metres long, 2.10 metres wide, and 1.10 metres thick. Its lid is 3.80 metres long, 2.20 metres wide, and 0.25 metres thick. The block and lid therefore have separate reported measurements and should not be treated as one combined dimension.
| Burial feature | North-south or length | East-west or width | Height or thickness |
|---|---|---|---|
| Burial chamber | 8.86 m | 3.71 m | 6.53 m high |
| Sarcophagus block | 3.0 m long | 2.10 m wide | 1.10 m thick |
| Sarcophagus lid | 3.80 m long | 2.20 m wide | 0.25 m thick |
Source: npj Heritage Science (2026).
The interior consists of two parallel, gallery-like rooms oriented east-west. The rear gallery floor is 15 centimetres higher than the outer gallery floor, and the rear gallery contains three independent rooms. The central rear room is the largest of those three rooms.
A removable monolithic slab covers the aperture in the floor that accesses Pakal’s stairway. The stairway descending to the burial chamber has two ramps. The chamber entrance is sealed by a triangular slab. Inside, the chamber soffit is corbelled by two consecutive straight vaults, while massive stone vault-beams cross the chamber vaults.
Mausoleum layout and excavation
The Ancient Mesoamerica account (2022) describes the monument’s five doorways, two-stepped platform, parallel galleries, three rear rooms, two-ramp descending stairway, and triangular chamber seal. Together, these counts show how the monument combines a formal public facade with a carefully controlled route toward the burial chamber.
The same account records that Ruz Lhuillier excavated the temple from 1949 to 1958. He uncovered the stairway after four field seasons. Four steps descend to the elevated landing inside the burial access corridor. These excavation figures refer to the modern archaeological work period, not to the ancient construction period.
The building’s facade has five frontal openings framed by six piers, as reported in The Tomb of K’inich Janaab Pakal (Mesoweb, 2007). The inner four piers depict standing figures. The outer two piers carried long glyphic texts: Pier A had 93 glyphs and Pier F had 96 glyphs.
The contrast between five openings and six framing piers is a useful architectural count: the piers define the intervals around the openings, while the openings are the doorways themselves. The two outer piers also carry the longer text panels, making their numerical record distinct from the four inner piers with standing figures.
Glyphs, dates, and construction history
The original eaves text comprised 44 glyphs, but only six glyphs remained in place, according to Mesoweb’s 2007 account. The preserved glyphs include positions 10 and 11, positions 17 and 18, and positions 26 and 27 in the sequence. These surviving positions are specific locations in the original sequence rather than a claim that the text consisted of only six glyph positions.
The eaves chronology includes the 819-day calendar position at Long Count 9.12.16.2.2, corresponding to 18 May 688. It also includes an Initial Series date narrowed to the interval from 14 December 688 through 3 January 689. The earlier date falls between 17 December 676 and 6 January 677.
Mesoweb’s inferred construction period is almost exactly 12 years. Within that interpretation, Pakal died in August 683 after approximately five and a half years of work, and K’inich Kan B’alam II spent another five years finishing the construction and decoration. The separate npj Heritage Science (2026) summary gives the broader milestones of a 675 CE beginning and completion around 690 CE. The dates are therefore best kept with their stated precision: some are year-level milestones, some are calendar ranges, and one is a specific day.
The two outer facade piers provide additional text counts. Pier A carried 93 glyphs, while Pier F carried 96 glyphs. On Pier F, only 13 glyph blocks intervene between Glyph G6 and Glyphs I1-J2. These are counts from the text layout and should not be confused with the six eaves glyphs that remained in place.
Kings named in the texts
The Temple of the Inscriptions texts name nine Palenque kings, according to The Tomb of K’inich Janaab Pakal (Mesoweb, 2007). For comparison, the Temple of the Cross text names ten Palenque kings. The two temple corpora overlap on four other kings, and three kings were dropped from the official list between the Temple of the Inscriptions and Temple of the Cross texts.
| Textual comparison | Reported count |
|---|---|
| Palenque kings named in Temple of the Inscriptions texts | 9 |
| Palenque kings named in Temple of the Cross text | 10 |
| Kings shared by the two corpora | 4 |
| Kings dropped from the official list between the texts | 3 |
Source: The Tomb of K’inich Janaab Pakal, Mesoweb (2007).
These counts describe the named rulers in the cited textual corpora. They provide a numerical way to compare the Temple of the Inscriptions with the Temple of the Cross while preserving the distinction between the two sources and their separate official-list traditions.