page_title: Comalcalco (archaeological site)
section_title: Great Acropolis
hierarchical_section_title: Comalcalco (archaeological site) / The Site / Great Acropolis
caption_attribution_description: Español: Mascarón que representa a "Itzamnaaj", dios del cielo, localizado en el Templo VI, en la zona arqueológica de Comalcalco, Tabasco, México.
context_page_description: Comalcalco is an ancient Mayan archaeological site in the State of Tabasco, Mexico, adjacent to the modern city of Comalcalco and near the southern coast of the Gulf of Mexico. It is the only major Maya city built with bricks rather than limestone masonry and was the westernmost city of the Mayan civilisation. Covering an area of 7 km², Comalcalco was founded in the Late Classic period and may have been a satellite or colony of Palenque based on architectural similarities between the two. The city was a center of the Chontal Maya people.
context_section_description: South of the Northern Plaza is a large artificial platform measuring 35 m (115 ft) in height with diverse buildings on top. It was named the Great Acropolis by Gordon Ekholm.
  Temple VII is on a protruding spur of the Great Acropolis that forms its northern edge. The temple is on a small base with a north-facing central staircase. Like many temples at the site, the structure at the summit had an entryway with three openings into a sanctuary with a constructed altar. It is also known as the Temple of the Seated Chieftains because of the seated figures modeled from stucco that  can still be seen on the two upper tiers of the Temple's sloped sides.
  On the same spur, immediately east of Temple VII and also facing north, is Temple VI, or Andews' Temple. During the first constructive stage identified at Comalcalco, the upper structure had mud walls. Later, it was replaced by two rectangular rooms made of bricks. The upper structure is the same design as that of Temples I, V and VII. In the remains of the central stairway, archaeologist Román Piña Chán discovered a mask of the sun God Kinich Ahau in stucco. The mask is still visible to visitors and has earned the temple the nickname Temple of the Mask.
  The terrace of Temples VI, VII and their ruined neighbour, Temple VIII, is on the northern edge of the Plaza of the Great Acropolis. The Palace (Structure 1) is on a larger terrace at the eastern end of the plaza and is the centrepiece of the acropolis. The Palace could once entered through eight framed doorways which led to a 2.5-metre-wide (8.2 ft) main gallery oriented on a north–south axis. The gallery connected with a long room on the north end, and other rooms on its south end. It was separated from another parallel eastern gallery by a wall with five openings. From this gallery, nine bays exited to the rear of the palace. Two of these bays had built-in benches or altars. The roof of the two galleries of the palace has collapsed, but its corbel vault is still hinted at by some standing walls, as are window-like openings. The inner spaces of the galleries show evidence of adaptation through the placement and removal of inner diving walls.
  At the palace's southeast exit lies the Sunken Patio Group at the southern end of the Great Acropolis terrace. On the north side are the ruins of a residential building (Structure 2). To the east was a long building whose exposed remains seem to indicate two construction phases. The south boundary is Temple IV.
  Temple IV is also known as the Stucco Tomb. In ancient times, the central staircase leading to the sanctuary covered the entrance to a vaulted funeral chamber that was once decorated with stucco figures.
  Temple V is in very poor condition but shares the same features as Temple IV. It had an inner tomb and a sanctuary with two spaces. It is west of the southern end of The Palace.
  West of Temple V, Temple IX was built above the Tomb of the Nine Lords of the Night. The tomb's walls were decorated with nine stucco figures, now badly eroded.
  On the western side of the Great Acropolis plaza are the overgrown remains of a ballcourt.
caption: Mask of Kinich Ahau in Temple VI
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