In the foreground is the court of the Great Acropolis, with the Northwestern Temple (to the far right) flanking the grand stairway (not seen here) that descends into the Main Plaza, which is closed off to the west by the imposing mass of the Nohoch Na (in the background). While beyond this latter structure all has been swallowed by the jungle, the site's core extended well beyond this very large area, as can be attested by the tree-covered tall mound close to this picture's right-hand corner. The mound holds the unexcavated remains of a very large complex nowadays known as "La Vieja," after an old Maya legend about an elderly woman who cared for a child/dwarf-magician. |