Copan's Hieroglyphic Stairway, is the longest and perhaps the most famous inscription in the Maya area. It was the most significant feature of Outstanding Universal Value cited by UNESCO for designating Copan a World Heritage Site in 1980. It records the dynastic history of the Copan’s 5th to 8th century rulers carved on more than 1100 glyph blocks spanning 63 steps. A first shorter version was dedicated to commemorate Ruler 12 and mentions his burial. Additions to that version were dedicated in 756 CE.
Discovered in 1885 by Alfred Percival Maudslay, the Hieroglyphic Stairway was excavated by the Peabody Museum from 1892–1900. Over 60 percent of the steps had fallen into disarray from earthquakes, leaving the inscription in a jumble. Later, the Carnegie Institution of Washington reconstructed it to the best of their abilities from 1937– 1942, and this is the version we see today.
A CMHI publication of the entire Stairway inscription is in progress. From 2008–2012 a 3D scanning initiative captured the entire inscription and sculpture at high resolution supported by the ten-year Santander Program for Research and Conservation of MayaSculpture. These models provide a precise foundation for line drawings and will allow for a replica to be fabricated without damaging the original stone. The Peabody Museum’s valuable 19th century glass plate negatives taken at the time of discovery, allow now eroded details to be added to the record.
Epigraphers studying the hieroglyphs can now read about 80 percent of the text and are using the 3D model to put it in its original reading order. The Santander Program supported workshops and the printing of a 1:10 scaled model from the 3D data. It fits on a tabletop!
Already in 1946, some deterioration was noticed, and by 1980 such deterioration became a critical conservation issue. In 1983, the Honduran Institute of Anthropology and History convened a meeting of experts on stone conservation. They recommended a large canvas tarpaulin to be installed over the Stairway, which needs to be replaced every 3-5 years.
In 1999 the Getty Conservation Institute undertook a 10-year project to analyze conditions of the Stairway, reasons for its deterioration, and to determine appropriate conservation actions. Their final report recommended the continue use of a protective shelter with modifications, or a newly designed, permanent shelter. Four design concepts for a new protective shelter were proposed by Architect Gionata Rizzi.
At the start of Harvard’s Santander Program in 2010 a committee of specialists was convened to decide on conservation and research priorities. A top priority was to further the recommendations of the Getty report, to fund the research and design phase for the new shelter. In 2011, a 1:5 prototype was installed in Copan to test 4 different materials (cotton, acrylic, fiberglass and polyvinyl). Ongoing modifications with architects and engineers has carried the project into 2022.
The installation of a new, vastly improved protective cover for the Stairway will improve the monument’s physical environment and conservation, and make it more visually pleasing to the 100,000+ visitors who come to see it each year.
Publication of the archaeological excavations are forthcoming that will include analysis of the multi-layered history of the pyramidal base that supports the Stairway, Structure 26. These exterior and tunneling excavations have enabled cross-sections of the Copan Acropolis and the buried structures that form its mass.
A number of earlier buildings (earliest dates to 400 CE) and hieroglyphic monuments were found buried in the Stairway’s pyramid structure. They include the earliest stela of Copan, Stela 63, dedicated by Ruler 2 in 440 CE, the earliest hieroglyphic monument in the city’s history, the Motmot Floor marker, dedicated by the founding king of Copán K’inich Yax K’uk’ Mo’ and his son and successor in 435 CE, and the largest royal tomb known in Copan, that of Ruler 12.
Conservation consolidation, and backfilling of the archaeological tunnels beneath Structure 26 and the Hieroglyphic Stairway, is in progress. Many of the fragile stucco façades of earlier buildings are being reburied for protection. Each is documented by the COEDMAC team in 3D models and detailed condition surveys.
The first reburial project attempted was of the stucco façade of a supernatural macaw that adorned Copan’s first ballcourt. The work was supervised by stucco conservator specialist, Dr. Alejandra Alonso of the Instituto de Antropolgía e Historia of Mexico.