#temple of the cross

Archaeology: A Secret History - BBC Four

Episode 2 “The Search for Civilisation”

The Group of the Cross is a complex of temples at the Maya ruins of Palenque, Mexico. 

Palenque was a Maya city state that flourished between 500 and 700 AD, when the city rose to be a powerful capital within a regional political unit. K'inich Janaab’ Pakal -Pakal the Great-, was the most famous ruler of Palenque. Once the ancient city was abandoned around the 9th century, the thick jungle surrounding it covered its temples and palaces. 

The temples known as the Cross Group are among the most elegant of all Maya architecture. The three main structures are the Temple of the Cross (picture n 1), the Temple of the Sun (picture n 2, left) and the Temple of the Foliated Cross (picture n 3).

The temples were built from limestone, covered in stucco and decorated with blue and red paint. All three temples (built between 684 - 702 AD) have a large central opening flanked on each side by two stucco decorated piers and a narrow portal. The interiors are divided into front and back rooms. In the back room is a sanctuary that houses a three part panel. In each temple the panel has a similar theme, how Chan Bahlum II (K'inich Kan B'ahlam), the son and successor of Pakal the Great, was the rightful heir and ruler of Palenque. The Cross Group is one of the most important sources of glyphic text of the Maya culture.

The Cross Group was named by early explorers because of the cruciform iconography found on some of its tablets but in reality the cross-like element is a representation of the tree of creation at the center of the world in Maya mythology.

Palenque, Chiapas, Mexico