Temple of Inscriptions, Palenque, Mexico

The Temple of the Inscriptions is one of the most impressive buildings at the site. While excavating the room at the top of this structure in 1952, the Mexican Archaeologist Alberto Ruz discovered a hidden chamber and a concealed stairway filled with rubble. It took four seasons to follow the stairs 80 vertical feet into the pyramid. They end in a chamber 30 feet long by 13 feet wide with a high vaulted arch of 23 feet which contains the crypt of Pakal (meaning 'Shield'), the most important ruler at the site. The huge stone sarcophagus is famous for its sculpture of the tree of life and the afterworld journey of Pakal. A jade burial mask (now in the Museum of Anthropology in Mexico City) was also found in the crypt. Unfortunately this is one of the few structures in Palenque you can no longer climb.