El Castillo (Temple of Kukulcan)
Chichen Itza · Yucatan, Mexico · c. 800–1000/1100 CE (Late Classic–Postclassic Maya period), Yucatan
El Castillo (the Temple of Kukulcan) is a nine-tiered calendar pyramid in the center of Chichen Itza. Four stairways of 91 steps each and the upper platform add up to 365 — the number of days in the year — and on the days of the equinoxes the zigzag shadow of the "Feathered Serpent" slides down the balustrade. The Maya created their own version of the stepped sacred mountain — a global parallel to the ziggurat.
Dossier
- Type: Stepped structure
- Ancient city: Chichen Itza
- Modern location: Yucatan, Mexico
- Dedication: A temple of the deity Kukulcan — the "Feathered Serpent"; the structure carries calendrical symbolism (365 steps, the "serpent" effect on the days of the equinoxes)
- Dating: c. 800–1000/1100 CE (Late Classic–Postclassic Maya period), Yucatan
- Builders: The Maya of northern Yucatan (Chichen Itza); the architecture also shows "Toltec" motifs of central Mexico
- Material: Limestone (stone masonry with lime mortar)
- Plan: A square base with a side of 55.3 m; four stairways (91 steps each) facing the cardinal directions; together with the upper platform the steps give 365 — the number of days in the haab year
- Base: 55.3 × 55.3 m
- Height (surviving): about 30 m
- Tiers: 9
What matters
El Castillo was built in several stages: the earliest inner temple dates to the 7th–8th centuries, while its outward appearance took shape around the 10th–11th centuries. Its present look is the result of the restoration of the 1920s–1930s, and the upper temple has been rebuilt. The height of about 30 m should therefore be regarded as reconstructed rather than surviving.