Explore the Rosalila Temple and Temple 16 at Copán Ruinas
A guided tour
We're standing in front of Temple 16 at Copán, one of the most important cities in the Maya kingdom.
Inside this temple is the incredible Rosalila Temple, one of the most elaborately decorated and well-preserved temple ever discovered by archaeologists.
Illustration of Temple 16 and Rosalila Temple created by the Asociación Copán.
Outside, we find the legendary Altar Q.
This important historical monument depicts the sixteen Copán rulers, symbolically linking the last ruler with the dynasty’s founder.
Learn more about Altar Q and Maya Religon at Copán.
Each ruler is seated on glyphs spelling out their name. Here, Yax K'uk Mo’, the founder, hands an insignia to Yax Pac, legitimizing him as the last ruler.
The altar was used by priests standing on the platform of skulls in front of us.
From here the priest would look down on the altar where the sacrifices were made.
The inscription on the top tells the story of Yax K'uk Mo' and how he came to power.
Let's go inside!
These tunnels are closed to the public but we can explore all of them here.
The tunnels inside and around Temple 16 explore many important structures, and the main is the Rosalila Temple.
A full reconstruction is in the sculpture museum nearby.
The Rosalila Temple was the main sanctuary in the 6th century, constructed by the ruler, Moon Jaguar.
It was built over the tomb of the Copán's founder, Yax K’uk Mo‘, in the heart of the city.
The Rosalila temple was also dedicated to the founder. Inside the temple, archaeologists discovered artifacts for ceremonies honoring him.
Incense burner found at Copán, believed to be Yax K'uk Mo'.
The outer Rosalila temple was uncovered in 1989 and, because it had been carefully buried by the ancient Maya, it was found almost completely intact.
This is the East Facade of the Rosalila Temple as it has been excavated.
The entire temple is covered in stucco and was painted vivid red as you see in the reconstruction.
The East Facade featured monumental masks of the Sun God, Kinich Ahau.
Normally, the Maya destroyed their temples and built over them, but because the Rosalila temple was so sacred, they buried it intact.
Above the entrance to the temple, there was a monumental stucco mask of the Sun God where only the stone skeleton remains.
The stucco mask was sculpted around these stones.
The structure has three stories. The upper two stories display religious artwork with cosmological themes, highlighting the sun god, K’inich Ahua, the patron god of the Maya kings.
At the ground level are four long, narrow rooms which one would have to pass through to reach the sacred interior room where the Maya performed important rituals and ceremonies.
In the reconstruction at the Copán site museum, you can see the magnificent painted stucco.
The Rosalila Temple is one of the best preserved examples of Maya architecture and art, allowing for incredibly realistic reconstruction.
The whole temple contains many buildings--let's jump to the 3rd story of Rosalila.
On the third and highest story of the Rosalila temple here you see cosmological scenes depicting the creation of the cosmos.
When the ancient Maya buried the temple, they didn't destroy it but instead covered the temple in a thick layer of white paint.
Most of the paint is well-preserved and able to be studied today for the reconstruction.
As a result, many of the original religious artifacts were discovered inside the temple.
From these, researchers are able to understand the ceremonies that were performed here.
Down this way, we have an entrance into the Rosalila temple chapel, where the most sacred rituals were held.
Let's go down.
In the temple archeologists found “nine elaborate eccentric flints (ceremonial scepters) wrapped in the remnants of a deep blue bag or cloth, carved jade jewelry, conch shells, …, shark vertebrae, jaguar claws, and remains of flower petals and pine needles”.
Directly beneath us here is the tomb of the founder of the city, the legendary Margarita tomb, at the lowest levels of the temple.
The Rosalila temple was built over the top of it to honor the founder and Queen.
Continue exploring by heading down to the Margarita Tomb next!
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