Come to Copan.
There are many macaws in the woods in the park, with bright feathers and unique calls.
There are also unknown animals.
It was the capital of the ancient Mayan kingdom in 200 BC. Like other Mayan city-states of the classical period, the city was suddenly abandoned in the early 10th century and was not excavated until the 19th century.
The Copan ruins are distributed in the Copan Valley, which is 13 kilometers long and 2.5 kilometers wide. The core area covers an area of about 150,000 square meters and is the capital of the city-state.
There are mainly pyramids, central squares, stadiums, temples, stone steps, steles and carvings, etc., and were included in the “World Heritage List” in 1980.
Entering the ruins, the first thing you see is the central square.
There are more than 10 stone monuments standing on the side of the square
These steles are carved from a single block of stone, with different heights, and are full of symbolic carvings and various hieroglyphs, recording the history of Copan.
This is a small arena. Although the size of the stadium is small, it occupies a very important position.
For the ancient Mayans in America, ball games were not a simple physical exercise or recreational activity, but a religious ceremony. During the competition, the team captain of one side may become a sacrificial victim in a religious ceremony.
There is a slope on each side of the court, and a rectangular flat in the middle.
In a restored picture, we can see the scene at that time: the ancient Mayan king was sitting on a tall tower, and the hieroglyphic stone steps were on the right, and the stone steps were full of cheering citizens. Below the front is this pitch, and the players are fighting hard.
It is the prototype of the restoration map.
The hieroglyphic stone steps are 10 meters wide and have 62 steps.
They are all made of cut stones engraved with hieroglyphs. There are more than 2,000 characters in total, which is the longest inscription of Mayan hieroglyphs. Unfortunately, the damage is serious.
There is a piebald python engraved on each side of the stone steps, but it doesn’t look too much like it.
statue in front of stone steps
Can anyone read the pattern on the statue? I was confused.
Next to the pictographic stone steps is a small hillside, which is also piled up with stones, and connected with the pictographic stone steps to form a fortress.
Next to the pictographic stone steps is a small hillside, which is also piled up with stones, and connected with the pictographic stone steps to form a fortress.
But the view is wide.
Huge statue of a human head.
Walk from the top to the other side
There are some reliefs on the wall of the building on this side
This relief is kind of scary
The back of the pictographic ladder can be seen here
There are two ear-shaped stone sculptures in front of the building
Could there be secrets hidden in the two ear-shaped stone carvings?
There is another rectangular court with an area of about 300 square meters directly in front.
There are some stone statues on the field
There are underground tunnels around the stadium, and it was already late when we arrived, so the tunnels were closed.
There is still a building with only its foundations left.
The scale of the Copan ruins is not large, and the buildings are not too tall, but there are many carvings inside.
There are drainage ditches outside the fort
The other side of the fort is also piled up with stones.
There are also some sidewalks leading into the fort, which should be connected to the tunnel under the stadium.
In the exhibition room of the gate, you can see the layout diagram of Copan City. The slightly square building is the fortress connected with the hieroglyphic steps.
