d the temple pyramids and statues, are still to be found. Very
few particulars have been given of this wall. It was made of blocks of
stone, and seems to have been twenty-five feet thick at the base, but
the height is not given. The northern half of this area is occupied by a
large terrace, somewhat irregular in outline, and impressed Mr. Stephens
with the idea that it had not all been erected at the same time, but
additions had been made from time to time. Instead of describing the
ruins in full, we will let the illustration speak for itself. The
dimensions of this terrace are, six hundred and twenty-four feet
by eight hundred and nine feet. The side fronting on the river was
perpendicular. The other three sides consist of ranges of steps and
pyramidal structures. All these steps and pyramidal sides were once
painted. The general height of the terrace was about seventy feet above
the surface of the ground.

Illustration of Ruins of Copan.---------------

Though Mr. Stephens warns us that this terrace was not as large as the
base of the Pyramid of Ghizeh, still it must have required an immense
amount of work, since careful computations show that over twenty-six
million cubic feet of stone were used in its construction. This stone
was brought from the quarries two miles away. We must not forget that
this work was performed by a people destitute of metallic tools.

On the terrace were the ruins of four pyramids, one rising to the height
of one hundred and twenty-two feet. The surface of the terrace was not
continuous. In two places there were court-yards, or sunken areas. The
larger is ninety by one hundred and forty-four feet, and has a narrow
passage-way leading into it from the north. Whatever buildings that once
stood on this terrace, have vanished away. At one place only, on the
terrace, fronting the river, are the remains of small, circular towers,
thought to have been watch towers. The whole terrace was thickly
overgrown by trees of a tropical growth. Mr Stephens noticed two immense
Ceiba trees growing from the very summit of one of the pyramids. This
structure has been called the Temple, and a great many surmises have
been made as to the scenes once enacted there. If analogous to other
structures in Central America, this terrace was surmounted with
buildings. They may have been temples or palaces, or they may have been
communal houses, not unlike those of New Mexico, to the north.

But of more importance th