La Honradez Vol. 5.2

The route we traveled during our visit in 1976 was similar to that taken by Morley in 1915. But whereas for him it was a mule ride of 50 km from El Cayo to the Río Holmul, we were able to drive from Melchor de Mencos to the Río Holmul campsite known as Paso Benchua along a seasonally passable lumber road. The distance from Río Holmul to La Honradez was estimated by Morley as 28 km, i.e., a seven-hour journey, but we found it a nearly nine-hour walk. Much of this walk was along lumber or oil company roads that were not too badly overgrown, and we followed a chicleros' mule trail only for the last part, after leaving the truck road to Chochkitam.

From Río Holmul the lumber road takes a generally northwesterly direction across hilly terrain for about 5 km before crossing a short stretch of bajo. After this, one travels for an hour toward the northeast to reach the camp of La Fisga; then after about 500 m a dry arroyo is crossed, and the trail again heads in a northwesterly direction. The camp of Piedras Negras lies on the arroyo of that name and is reached some 2 km after the change in direction. Some 5 km farther on, the Arroyo del León is reached where it empties into a bajo of the same name. After another 3 km, one leaves the truck road and heads northwest along a mule trail that leads to the La Honradez aguada. In passing along the last 4 km of this trail one notices many mounds, their density increasing as La Honradez is approached.

Alfred Tozzer was the first archaeologist to visit La Honradez. In 1910, leading the Eighth Peabody Museum Expedition, he twice went to the site for two or three days, producing in that time the sketch map that, with some additions, has been the only one available until now. He also discovered all but one of the monuments. Morley, as a member of the first Central American Expedition of the Carnegie Institution of Washington, visited the site for five days early in 1915, photographing the monuments and collecting information about them. Blom, on a Tulane University expedition in 1929, discovered Stela 9, as it is called in the present work. Two years later, Eric Thompson visited the site. The data gathered on those expeditions were presented in The Inscriptions of Peten (Morley 1937-38, vol. 1, pp. 431-459).

Since then, only looters have paid any attention to the site. In the years immediately preceding my visit, they removed the upper part of Stela 7 and burrowed deeply into the structures. Fortunately Señor Abelardo Ventura, a guard employed by the Guatemalan Instituto de Antropología e Historia, had in the course of his tours of inspection come across the site, which was still known to chicleros as Corozal as it had been in Blom's time, and he led me to it in 1976. We stayed there from May 1 to May 17, during which time I drew and photographed the monuments and prepared the site plan with the help of Todd Greenbaum.

The site plan published by Morley (1937-38, vol. 5, pl. 193a) is based on Tozzer's sketch map. From Blom's sketch map he incorporated Stela 9 (called by him Stela 10) but not the eastern causeway that Blom had discovered. Morley probably confined his attention to the stelae and spent little time during his brief sojourns in examining the structures. However, Tozzer's field notes (Peabody Museum Archives) contain several pages of architectural sketches and measurements.

During the 1976 season the northern and western causeways were found and mapped. All the mounds shown in our plan were mapped afresh, although no claim of completeness is made for it. Still, it seems unlikely that much was missed, or that the site extends much farther in any direction. There was little undergrowth, so that with good visibility a fairly thorough inspection of the surrounding terrain was possible.

The heart of La Honradez is a large plaza, approximately 90 m east-west and 65 m north-south, in which all the stelae found at the site were set. The largest structure, A-21, forms the east side of the plaza, rising to a height of 17.5 m. Stela 9 was found by Blom on its stairway, and on top the walls of a temple can be distinguished among the rubble. North of this structure were found stone fragments that may be Stela 8, although this remains uncertain.

On the opposite side of the plaza stand Structures A-23 (17.5 m high) and A-20 (9 m high); shortly before our arrival looters had tunnelled into the latter from three directions. The opening between these two gives access to Causeway 1, which slopes gently downward for a total fall of 14 m before reaching the small Group D.

The north side of the plaza is defined by an acropolis that incorporates Structure A-W, height 16 m, on its west side and what may well be a double ball court on the east (Structures A-12 to A-14). The court within the acropolis is at a level 4 m higher than the plaza.

The northeast corner of the plaza provides the exit toward Causeway 3. This, the longest of the three, forms a processional way to Group C, a collection of structures with heights ranging up to 5 m. Causeway 2 takes off from an assembly area north of the supposed ball courts and heads north, falling approximately 30 m over its course. Beyond its terminus the terrain drops off more steeply.

In his field notes, Tozzer mentions a large aguada north of the ruins, which was dry at the time of his visit. He also describes a quarry northeast of Group A and certainly within the limits of our plan. About 40 m in diameter, it contained an altar about 2 m in diameter and 0.55 m thick that was ready to be conveyed to the ruins and another slightly larger one that was broken and probably abandoned.

It is the area south of the main plaza that holds the most complex and impressive groups at La Honradez. Structures A-26 and A-27, though badly ruined, rise 17.5 m and form the dominant feature of the south side of the plaza. Structure A-29 remains in much better condition. Several chambers of the temple are intact, and there is a mask carved on the north side. The front of the structure, however, has collapsed. Measurements and sketches of the temple can be found in Tozzer's field notebooks.

Structure A-59, 15 m high and one of the largest at La Honradez, stands somewhat apart from the group of structures south of the main plaza; it consists of a complex substructure topped by the low remains of a temple.

The aguada to the south, about 500 m distant, seems to be a fairly reliable source of water throughout the year.

Stelae 1 to 7 and Stela 9

1.  The top of Stela 5 was called Stela 9 by Morley, and his Stela 10 is here redesignated as Stela 9.
2.  Stela 8 is so badly crumbled that any carving it may have had is no longer discernible.

MORLEY, SYLVANUS G.

1937-38    The Inscriptions of Peten. Carnegie Institution of Washington, Publication 437, 5 vols. Washington, D.C.

Location

This stela was still erect when found by Tozzer in front of Structure A27; but Morley's photograph shows a large crack not far above the base. By 1976 the shaft had broken at this point, and the stela was lying on its side.

Condition

The lower fragment was not found and, in view of the poor quality of the stone, it may simply have crumbled. Two small fragments of the shaft were found, but the missing upper part is presumed to have decayed into small pieces. Traces of red paint were found on the front and sides.

Material

Limestone.

Shape

Parallel sides; shape of top unknown. Tozzer records in his field notes that the butt increases greatly in thickness at a certain distance below the base of carving.

Dimensions

Carved Areas

All four sides.

Photographs

Left side and lower part of front: Morley. Others: von Euw.

Drawings

von Euw, based on field drawings corrected by artificial light and on other details taken from Morley's photographs.

Location

Tozzer found the surviving fragment of this stela lying on its face between Structures A-24 and A-25. Its position in 1976 was rather more distant from Stela 1 than is indicated on the plan published by Morley, but it may have been moved at some time.

Condition

The fragment has not deteriorated since its discovery; the front being fairly well preserved, the sides badly eroded.

Material

Soft limestone.

Shape

Form of shaft unknown. Tozzer recorded in his field notes that the butt increases in width abruptly at some distance (apparently about 25 cm) below the base of carving. Presumably these shoulders were set just below floor level.

Carved Areas

The front and left sides are carved, so it seems likely that the other side was also carved. (Morley failed to distinguish carving on either side.) It is impossible to tell whether or not the back was carved.

Dimensions

Photographs

von Euw.

Drawings

von Euw, based on field drawings corrected by artificial light.

Remarks

In his field notes, Tozzer records an altar about 1.5 m in diameter on the south side of the stela, partly covered by rubble.

Location

Tozzer found this stela on the west side of the main plaza, standing in front of Structure A-23.

Condition

In 1976 the stela was still standing, although a tree growing on top of it had split off the top, which suffered further breakage in the fall. The stone has become very soft, and only small areas retain any detailed carving. Nevertheless, traces of red paint were found on the front and right side.

Material

Very porous limestone.

Shape

Unknown.

Dimensions

Carved Areas

Front and right side. Severe damage caused by flaking makes it impossible to tell whether the left side or back were carved.

Photographs

Upper fragment of front: CIW. Remainder: von Euw.

Drawings

von Euw, based on field drawings corrected by artificial light.

Location

This stela is still standing in front of Structure A-20 on the west side of the main plaza.

Condition

The front is weathered but less than most stelae at this site. Large areas of the sides have been weathered away. Since Morley's time two amate trees have dislodged the top of the stela, which fortunately suffered little damage in the fall; the upper parts of the sides, however, were damaged. Traces of red paint can be seen on the sides.

Material

Limestone.

Shape

Parallel sides with a flattish top.

Dimensions

Carved Areas

Front and sides. The back is now affected everywhere by flaking, but Tozzer records in his field notes that some of the original surface was remaining and that it showed no trace of carving.

Photographs

Front: R. E. Merwin. Sides: von Euw.

Drawings

von Euw, based on field drawings corrected by artificial light.

Remarks

Tozzer records an altar 0.90 m in diameter that was situated 1.7 m in front of the stela, but this was not seen in 1976.

Location

When found by Tozzer the stela was lying face down in front of Structure A-10. The butt is still in situ.

Condition

The shaft broke into three pieces when it fell on its altar, as Tozzer suggested in his field notes. The carved surface of the front is in good condition, with only a few losses at the breaks; the sides are badly affected by weathering. Large areas of the front show red paint, of which there are also traces on the sides.

Material

Limestone.

Shape

Parallel sides with a squared-off top.

Dimensions

Carved Areas

Front and sides; in Tozzer's view the back was apparently plain.

Photographs

von Euw.

Drawings

von Euw, based on field drawings corrected by artificial light, with some details taken from Merwin's (1910) and Morley's photographs.

Remarks

Considerable confusion surrounds this stela. Morley (1937-38, vol. 1, p. 450) describes it as broken into three pieces, yet he illustrates only the largest piece; the other two fragments he describes and illustrates as Stela 9. And Tozzer published a drawing of them as Stela D of Nakum.

Location

Tozzer found this stela still standing on the north side of the main plaza in front of Structure A-11, on the axis of its stairway.

Condition

The top of the stela has fallen away in small pieces, and its general condition is poor. There are patches of red paint in the upper left corner and under the headdress.

Material

Porous limestone.

Shape

Parallel sides; shape of top unknown.

Dimensions

Carved Areas

Front and sides.

Photographs

Front: CIW (the lower left-hand edge falls outside the field of the negative). Sides: von Euw.

Drawings

von Euw, based on field drawings corrected by artificial light. Areas now missing were drawn from CIW photographs.

Location

When found by Tozzer the stela was unbroken and standing on the north side of the plaza, in front of Structure A-11 near its southeast corner. The stela has since been broken: the butt and lower zone of carving remain in situ, but the larger upper fragment was illegally removed to California in the early 1970s and sold to the San Bernardino County Museum.

Condition

The butt fragment has not deteriorated significantly since Morley's time, but the carved surface is not in good condition (though traces of red paint do remain on the mask). The fragment in California has been heavily, and badly, restored. The back and sides of it have disappeared and may have either crumbled or been discarded by the looters.

Material

Limestone of poor quality.

Shape

Parallel sides with a fairly rectangular top.

Dimensions

Carved Areas

Front and sides, and almost certainly the back, according to both Tozzer and Morley, although they disagreed over the number of glyph columns.

Photographs

ClW. A small portion of the upper edge is cut off in this photograph.

Drawings

von Euw, based on a field drawing of the mask corrected by artificial light, on a drawing by Graham of the fragment in California, and on CIW photographs.

Location

The stela was found in 1928 by Blom. It had fallen on the stairway of Structure A-21.

Condition

All traces of carving have disappeared from two adjacent faces of the shaft, and hardly more than traces remain on the other two sides, here called arbitrarily the front and left side. The stela, or what remains of it, is broken into several pieces.

Material

Porous limestone.

Shape

Parallel sides; shape of top unknown.

Dimensions

Carved Areas

Front and left side, at least.

Photographs

von Euw.

Drawings

von Euw, based on field drawings corrected by artificial light.

Remarks

This stela was called Stela 10 by Morley.