Edzná

On the south side of the plaza stands the restored House of the Moon (Casa de la Luna; Mayan: "Paal u'ná"). Flanked either side by six terraces, the wide external stairway ascends to the temple remains on the top.

The east side of the plaza is dominated by Edzná's most interesting easily accessible monument, El Edificio de los Cinco Pisos (Five-Storeyed Building). From the almost square base, measuring 60 3 58 m (197 3 190 ft), an external "flying" stairway mounts the pyramid's four lower tiers, each 4.6 m (15 ft) in height. The fifth storey consists of a 5 m (17 ft)-tall temple building crowned by a 6 m (19 ft) roof-comb. The top of the comb reaches 31 m (102 ft) above the ground.

The four, chambered, lower storeys are thought to have been priests' quarters, the temple with its altar comprising the actual shrine. The lowest storey is adorned with masonry columns reminiscent of the Río Bec style, while the fourth in contrast boasts the kind of monolithic columns with capitals commonly found in the Puuc region. On the first floor, a passageway with corbel vaulting leading inwards from underneath the stairway gives access to the inner chamber.

This impressive structure perfectly illustrates the rather austere style of building typical of Edzná, with plain cornices and unadorned façades. The contrast with the architecture of the Classic Chenes or Puuc sites is very marked. Only the roof-comb could be described as at all ornate, being richly embellished with stucco figures.

Also deserving mention are another group of structures known as the Grupo del Centro Ceremonial, some still awaiting excavation, others reverting to being overgrown. Clustered around a second plaza they include the so-called Great Acropolis (Gran Acrópolis; east side), the Platform of the Knives (Platforma de los Cuchillos; north side), the Big House (Casa Grande or Nohol'na; west side) and the Temple of the South (Templo del Sur; south side).

Because parts of Edzná lay below sea level the Maya found themselves forced to install efficient drainage. They solved the problem using an ingenious system of underground channels and cisterns located to the south of the Great Acropolis.

Occupying the south-west corner of the plaza is the appropriately named Temple of the South-west (Temple del Suroeste) consisting of a rectilinear platform from which sloping walls, reminiscent of Petén architecture, rise to an upper terrace with temple ruins. The Temple of the North-west (Templo del Nordeste) occupies the other corner on the west side.

Adjoining the latter is a building which was originally a sweat bath ("temazcalli").