Tikal Temple 33

Tikal Temple 33 (referred to in archaeological reports as 5D-33) was a ancient Maya funerary pyramid located in the North Acropolis of the great Maya city of Tikal. The pyramid was centrally situated in the front row of structures facing onto the Great Plaza, between Temples 32 and 34 and in front of the Northern Platform. Temple 33 is one of the most thoroughly explored temples in the entire Maya area. The earliest version was a low funerary shrine over the tomb of king Siyaj Chan K'awiil II, which was sealed in AD 457. Temple 33 underwent three consecutive phases of construction, during which the king's funerary shrine was remodelled and one of his stelae was interred above his tomb. In the mid-1960s, archaeologists completely dismantled the final version of the large pyramid, uncovering the earlier phases of construction. Temple 33 was the funerary monument of Siyaj Chan K'awiil II, a 5th-century king of Tikal; it was built directly over his tomb, which was cut into the underlying bedrock. The pyramid underwent three distinct construction phases over the course of two centuries. The three phases of construction were labelled by archaeologists 33-1 (the final version), 33-2 (the intermediate version) and 33-3 (the original Early Classic shrine). The first phase of construction consisted of a wide basal platform built as a mortuary shrine on top of the tomb. It featured large stucco masks measuring over high that flanked the access stairway. The second phase took place not long after the first and involved building a new superstructure upon the basal platform, with the addition of new stucco masks and panelling. The walls of the shrine were covered with Early Classic period graffiti, including both figures and hieroglyphs. The interior of the shrine was thinly coated with soot, some of the graffiti had been etched into the sooty covering, whilst more was discovered carved into the plaster underneath the soot deposit. The third and final phase of development took place during the Tikal Hiatus which lasted from AD 562 to 692.