Message #159676

[Bianca]

The photographs below show part of the "Hall of Columns" and the entrance to the main sanctuary (no one knows what these structures were called by their builders; the name "Hall of Columns" comes from the first Spanish explorers who visited the site). This hall, 120 x 21 feet in size, has six monolithic columns of volcanic stone that originally supported a roof covering the entire hall. The darkened doorway leads through a low and narrow passageway to the interior of another enclosure, now roofless, but also covered in ancient times. This chamber is one of the most astonishing artistic artifacts of pre-Columbian America. Its walls are covered with panels of inlaid cut-stone mosaic known as stepped-fret design. The motif of these intricate geometric mosaics are believed to be a stylized representation of the Sky Serpent and therefore a symbol of the pan-regional Mesoamerican deity, Quetzalcoatl. Archaeologists are mystified regarding the use of this chamber. An early Spanish explorer, named Canseco, who visited Mitla in 1580, wrote of the Hall of Columns, "In this building they had their idols, and it was where they assembled for religious purposes, to make sacrifices to their idols, and to perform heathen rites". Regarding the interior chamber, Canseco says it was the residence of the high priest. The oldest information we have about the chamber however, and possibly the most revealing, is a legend that says the chamber was used for the final initiation of shamans who had been trained in magic and healing in the school of Mitla. In the "Patio of Tombs", adjacent to the Hall of Columns, is a 2.8 meter tall column known as the "Pillar of Death". Legend says that if you hold your arms around this pillar and feel it move, then your death is immanent. The "Pillar of Death" is now blocked off so that you can not touch it or try to see if it can tell your future. In 1982, George tried it out and found that he had a few more years to live. Some books call this pillar, "The Pillar of Life." George likes that name better, too!

The most characteristic architecture in Mitla is the group of the columns, where we find the Great House of Pezelao, generally considered to be the most beautiful archaeological site in the Americas. The group contains two squares. The northern one is bordered by platforms on all four side. The main building is in the northern part. In the central patio there are vestiges of an altar. Its is made of talud, formed by two bands raised over the base, the panel and the cornice. The great Hall of Columns is rectangular. You pass through this hallway to enter the main palace which is behind a narrow door. Leaving this passageway we find the decorated patio, which provides access to each of the four salons. Each is decorated by three panels with ornate mosaics of carved stone which forms different geometric designs in each band. The panels contain thousands of polished stones, which are cut to fit without mortar.

The most beautiful tombs are located in the northern and eastern buildings, where the Zapotec priests and kings were buried. In the first, in front of the stairs, is the entrance to a cruciform tomb, with antechamber. The ceiling has large single stone dinteles and the walls are decorated with ornate mosaic panels. The eastern is characterized by a monolithic stone column that supports the ceiling.

Mitla is the fabled home of Mictlantecuhtle, Lord of The Underworld.

In the Seventeenth Century, the Church Of San Paublo was built upon the Mitla Courtyard C and the church was constructed of stone from the Prehispanic Mitla Temples. This practice was followed throughout all of Mexico to impose Catholic beleifs upon the local people, until 1850 when Benito Juarez passed the Ecclesiastical Real Estate Nationalization Law which put an end to this practice.

If you are driving out to to Mitla, you will pass the town of Santa Maria del Tule with its famous Arbol del Tule (tree of Tule) in the chuchyard. This mighty tree, having a circumference of over 160 feet at its base, is between 2000 and 3000 years old, making it one of the oldest living things on earth. It only takes a few minutes to visit and it is certainly worth the short visit.