The Plaza and the Temple Terrace
May 2006 - G. Buccellati
The Plaza is a void that is not empty!
It is in fact, in our understanding, loaded with meaning.
The reason is that it served as the hinge between the religious sphere of the Temple (rising high above it) and the secular sphere of the Palace (spread out below it).
The very fact that the openness of this wide space was respected until the site was abandoned is indicative of its great ideological valence. It would have been otherwise heavily quarried...
It is important to define the very concept of "Plaza." It is an open space defined by perceptual boundaries – the buildings around it. In this sense it is not, let us say, an "esplanade," an unbounded open space.
We offer here two parallel paths over which one can gain an overview of the Plaza as a whole – a general introduction for the first time visitor, and a detailed presentation for the scholar.
In addition, you will find a perspective on our plans for the coming season in the summer of 2006.
A slide presentation
The monumental urban complex
The Plaza and the revetment wall
The staircase
Historical inferences
A scholarly narrative
Framing the question
Development and structural components
Stratigraphy
The revetment wall in J1 and J3
The monumental staircase in J2
Prospects 2006
1. The articulation of the revetment wall
2. The level of the Plaza
3. The fill within the revetment wall
4. The upper apron
5. The eastern portion of the staircase
6. The surface of the glacis
7. Special projects