Running roughly north to south, the Nohoch Na ("Big House") is over 130 meters long. The steps that give access to its once-covered galleries run almost the whole length of the building. The very large size of these steps could be explained by the fact that they may have also been used as bleachers for spectators to watch events played out on the main plaza. Another feature of the Nohoch Na is its possible use for for astronomical observations, since a passage bisecting it at the center is aligned both with the Building of Five Stories to the east and with another, still unexplored structure to its west. To the left of the picture, one can see the backside of the Southern Temple. |