Chichen Itza
El Castillo
Lintel of the upper chamber
This is one of the carved columns supporting the
lintel in the upper temple of El Castillo. The lintel, a large wooden beam, supports the roof of the temple. The lintel is carved from the zapote tree, whose wood is hard and rot resistant, evidenced by the fact this lintel has survived for several hundred years.
This column is located just inside the portico
and is richly carved. There are still traces of the paint that once decorated it.
-- Chris Reeves/EJA
