Templo I

Templo I rises beside Tikal’s Great Plaza in Mexico, forming a steep pyramid built from limestone. A roof comb crowns it above a shrine with chambers arranged in sequence. Stepped levels shape its profile, while a steep staircase leads towards the sanctuary. Sapodilla lintels span its doorways, with carving on the inner beams.

The Maya built the monument as a funerary memorial for the ruler Jasaw Chan K’awiil I. His tomb came first, deep beneath the pyramid. The vaulted chamber held jadeite, painted ceramics, rare shells, mirrors, and a mosaic vessel bearing the ruler’s portrait. Carved human bones with hieroglyphic texts lay beside his right foot. The inscriptions mention Tikal’s allies and show the maize deity travelling towards the underworld in a canoe. Later, people reopened the burial shaft and added another burial during the Postclassic period.

One inner lintel, once painted red, depicts a seated figure beneath a huge serpent. Other lintels left the site, with some destinations now unknown. The roof comb once carried a giant sculpture of the enthroned king, of which little survives.