 a sculpted stela and altar pair . On the south side of these complexes there is a long vaulted building containing a single room with nine doorways . The entire complex was built at once and these complexes were built at 20 @-@ year ( or k 'atun ) intervals during the Late Classic . The first twin pyramid complex was built in the early 6th century in the East Plaza . It was once thought that these complexes were unique to Tikal but rare examples have now been found at other sites , such as Yaxha and Ixlu , and they may reflect the extent of Tikal 's political dominance in the Late Classic .   Group Q is a twin @-@ pyramid complex , and is one of the largest at Tikal . It was built by Yax Nuun Ayiin II in 771 in order to mark the end of the 17th K 'atun . Most of it has been restored and its monuments have been re @-@ erected .   Group R is another twin @-@ pyramid complex , dated to 790 . It is close to the Maler Causeway .   = = = Structures = = =   There are thousands of ancient structures at Tikal and only a fraction of these have been excavated , after decades of archaeological work . The most prominent surviving buildings include six very large pyramids , labelled Temples I - VI , each of which support a temple structure on their summits . Some of these pyramids are over 60 metres ( 200 feet ) high . They were numbered sequentially during the early survey of the site . It is estimated that each of these major temples could have been built in as little as two years .   Temple I ( also known as the Temple of Ah Cacao or Temple of the Great Jaguar ) is a funerary pyramid dedicated to Jasaw Chan K 'awil , who was entombed in the structure in AD 734 , the pyramid was completed around 740 – 750 . The temple rises 47 metres ( 154 ft ) high . The massive roofcomb that topped the temple was originally decorated with a giant sculpture of the enthroned king , although little of this decoration survives . The tomb of the king was discovered by Aubrey Trik of the University of Pennsylvania in 1962 . Among items recovered from the Late Classic tomb were a large collection of inscribed human and animal bone tubes and strips with sophisticated scenes depicting deities and people , finely carved and rubbed with vermilion , as well as jade and shell ornaments and ceramic vessels filled with offerings of food and drink . The shrine at the summit of the pyramid has three chambers , each behind the next , with the doorways spanned by wooden lintels fashioned from multiple beams . The outermost lintel is plain but the two inner lintels were carved , some of the beams were removed in the 19th century and their location is unknown , while others were taken to museums in Europe .   Temple II ( also known as the Temple of the Mask ) it was built around AD 700 and stands 38 metres ( 125 ft ) high . Like other major temples at Tikal , the summit shrine had three consecutive chambers with the doorways spanned by wooden lintels , only the middle of which was carved . The temple was dedicated to the wife of Jasaw Chan K 'awil , although no tomb was found . The queen 's portrait was carved into the lintel spanning the doorway of the summit shrine . One of the beams from this lintel is now in the American Museum of Natural History in New York .   Temple III ( also known as the Temple of the Jaguar Priest ) was the last of the great pyramids to be built at Tikal . It stood 55 metres ( 180 ft ) tall and contained an elaborately sculpted but damaged roof lintel , possibly showing Dark Sun engaged in a ritual dance around AD 810 . The temple shrine possesses two chambers .   Temple IV is the tallest temple @-@ pyramid at Tikal , measuring 70 metres ( 230 ft ) from the plaza floor level to the top of its roof comb . Temple IV marks the reign of Yik ’ in Chan Kawil ( Ruler B , the son of Ruler A or Jasaw Chan K 'awiil I ) and two carved wooden lintels over the doorway that leads into the temple on the pyramid ’ s summit record a long count date ( 9 @.@ 15 @.@ 10 @.@ 0 @.@ 0 ) that corresponds to CE 741 ( Sharer 1994 : 169 ) . Temple IV is the largest pyramid built anywhere in the Maya region in the 8th century , and as it currently stands is the tallest pre @-@ Columbian structure in the Americas although the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan may originally have been taller , as may have been one of the structures at El Mirador .   Temple V stands south of the Central Acropolis and is the mortuary pyramid of an as yet unidentified ruler . The temple
Ġa Ġsculpt ed Ġst ela Ġand Ġaltar Ġpair Ġ. ĠOn Ġthe Ġsouth Ġside Ġof Ġthese Ġcomplexes Ġthere Ġis Ġa Ġlong Ġvault ed Ġbuilding Ġcontaining Ġa Ġsingle Ġroom Ġwith Ġnine Ġdoor ways Ġ. ĠThe Ġentire Ġcomplex Ġwas Ġbuilt Ġat Ġonce Ġand Ġthese Ġcomplexes Ġwere Ġbuilt Ġat Ġ20 Ġ@ - @ Ġyear Ġ( Ġor Ġk Ġ' at un Ġ) Ġintervals Ġduring Ġthe ĠLate ĠClassic Ġ. ĠThe Ġfirst Ġtwin Ġpyramid Ġcomplex Ġwas Ġbuilt Ġin Ġthe Ġearly Ġ6 th Ġcentury Ġin Ġthe ĠEast ĠPlaza Ġ. ĠIt Ġwas Ġonce Ġthought Ġthat Ġthese Ġcomplexes Ġwere Ġunique Ġto ĠTik al Ġbut Ġrare Ġexamples Ġhave Ġnow Ġbeen Ġfound Ġat Ġother Ġsites Ġ, Ġsuch Ġas ĠY ax ha Ġand ĠI x lu Ġ, Ġand Ġthey Ġmay Ġreflect Ġthe Ġextent Ġof ĠTik al Ġ' s Ġpolitical Ġdominance Ġin Ġthe ĠLate ĠClassic Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠGroup ĠQ Ġis Ġa Ġtwin Ġ@ - @ Ġpyramid Ġcomplex Ġ, Ġand Ġis Ġone Ġof Ġthe Ġlargest Ġat ĠTik al Ġ. ĠIt Ġwas Ġbuilt Ġby ĠY ax ĠNu un ĠAy i in ĠII Ġin Ġ7 71 Ġin Ġorder Ġto Ġmark Ġthe Ġend Ġof Ġthe Ġ17 th ĠK Ġ' at un Ġ. ĠMost Ġof Ġit Ġhas Ġbeen Ġrestored Ġand Ġits Ġmonuments Ġhave Ġbeen Ġre Ġ@ - @ Ġerected Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠGroup ĠR Ġis Ġanother Ġtwin Ġ@ - @ Ġpyramid Ġcomplex Ġ, Ġdated Ġto Ġ7 90 Ġ. ĠIt Ġis Ġclose Ġto Ġthe ĠMal er ĠCause way Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠStruct ures Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠThere Ġare Ġthousands Ġof Ġancient Ġstructures Ġat ĠTik al Ġand Ġonly Ġa Ġfraction Ġof Ġthese Ġhave Ġbeen Ġexcav ated Ġ, Ġafter Ġdecades Ġof Ġarchaeological Ġwork Ġ. ĠThe Ġmost Ġprominent Ġsurviving Ġbuildings Ġinclude Ġsix Ġvery Ġlarge Ġpy ramids Ġ, Ġlabelled ĠTem ples ĠI Ġ- ĠVI Ġ, Ġeach Ġof Ġwhich Ġsupport Ġa Ġtemple Ġstructure Ġon Ġtheir Ġsum mits Ġ. ĠSome Ġof Ġthese Ġpy ramids Ġare Ġover Ġ60 Ġmetres Ġ( Ġ200 Ġfeet Ġ) Ġhigh Ġ. ĠThey Ġwere Ġnumbered Ġsequ entially Ġduring Ġthe Ġearly Ġsurvey Ġof Ġthe Ġsite Ġ. ĠIt Ġis Ġestimated Ġthat Ġeach Ġof Ġthese Ġmajor Ġtemples Ġcould Ġhave Ġbeen Ġbuilt Ġin Ġas Ġlittle Ġas Ġtwo Ġyears Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠTemple ĠI Ġ( Ġalso Ġknown Ġas Ġthe ĠTemple Ġof ĠAh ĠC ac ao Ġor ĠTemple Ġof Ġthe ĠGreat ĠJaguar Ġ) Ġis Ġa Ġfuner ary Ġpyramid Ġdedicated Ġto ĠJas aw ĠChan ĠK Ġ' aw il Ġ, Ġwho Ġwas Ġent omb ed Ġin Ġthe Ġstructure Ġin ĠAD Ġ7 34 Ġ, Ġthe Ġpyramid Ġwas Ġcompleted Ġaround Ġ7 40 ĠâĢĵ Ġ750 Ġ. ĠThe Ġtemple Ġrises Ġ47 Ġmetres Ġ( Ġ154 Ġft Ġ) Ġhigh Ġ. ĠThe Ġmassive Ġroof comb Ġthat Ġtopped Ġthe Ġtemple Ġwas Ġoriginally Ġdecorated Ġwith Ġa Ġgiant Ġsculpture Ġof Ġthe Ġent h ron ed Ġking Ġ, Ġalthough Ġlittle Ġof Ġthis Ġdecoration Ġsurvives Ġ. ĠThe Ġtomb Ġof Ġthe Ġking Ġwas Ġdiscovered Ġby ĠAub rey ĠTri k Ġof Ġthe ĠUniversity Ġof ĠPennsylvania Ġin Ġ1962 Ġ. ĠAmong Ġitems Ġrecovered Ġfrom Ġthe ĠLate ĠClassic Ġtomb Ġwere Ġa Ġlarge Ġcollection Ġof Ġinscribed Ġhuman Ġand Ġanimal Ġbone Ġtubes Ġand Ġstrips Ġwith Ġsophisticated Ġscenes Ġdepicting Ġdeities Ġand Ġpeople Ġ, Ġfinely Ġcarved Ġand Ġrubbed Ġwith Ġver mil ion Ġ, Ġas Ġwell Ġas Ġj ade Ġand Ġshell Ġor nam ents Ġand Ġceramic Ġvessels Ġfilled Ġwith Ġofferings Ġof Ġfood Ġand Ġdrink Ġ. ĠThe Ġshrine Ġat Ġthe Ġsummit Ġof Ġthe Ġpyramid Ġhas Ġthree Ġchambers Ġ, Ġeach Ġbehind Ġthe Ġnext Ġ, Ġwith Ġthe Ġdoor ways Ġsp anned Ġby Ġwooden Ġl int els Ġfashioned Ġfrom Ġmultiple Ġbeams Ġ. ĠThe Ġouter most Ġl intel Ġis Ġplain Ġbut Ġthe Ġtwo Ġinner Ġl int els Ġwere Ġcarved Ġ, Ġsome Ġof Ġthe Ġbeams Ġwere Ġremoved Ġin Ġthe Ġ19 th Ġcentury Ġand Ġtheir Ġlocation Ġis Ġunknown Ġ, Ġwhile Ġothers Ġwere Ġtaken Ġto Ġmuseums Ġin ĠEurope Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠTemple ĠII Ġ( Ġalso Ġknown Ġas Ġthe ĠTemple Ġof Ġthe ĠMask Ġ) Ġit Ġwas Ġbuilt Ġaround ĠAD Ġ700 Ġand Ġstands Ġ38 Ġmetres Ġ( Ġ125 Ġft Ġ) Ġhigh Ġ. ĠLike Ġother Ġmajor Ġtemples Ġat ĠTik al Ġ, Ġthe Ġsummit Ġshrine Ġhad Ġthree Ġconsecutive Ġchambers Ġwith Ġthe Ġdoor ways Ġsp anned Ġby Ġwooden Ġl int els Ġ, Ġonly Ġthe Ġmiddle Ġof Ġwhich Ġwas Ġcarved Ġ. ĠThe Ġtemple Ġwas Ġdedicated Ġto Ġthe Ġwife Ġof ĠJas aw ĠChan ĠK Ġ' aw il Ġ, Ġalthough Ġno Ġtomb Ġwas Ġfound Ġ. ĠThe Ġqueen Ġ' s Ġportrait Ġwas Ġcarved Ġinto Ġthe Ġl intel Ġspanning Ġthe Ġdoorway Ġof Ġthe Ġsummit Ġshrine Ġ. ĠOne Ġof Ġthe Ġbeams Ġfrom Ġthis Ġl intel Ġis Ġnow Ġin Ġthe ĠAmerican ĠMuseum Ġof ĠNatural ĠHistory Ġin ĠNew ĠYork Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠTemple ĠIII Ġ( Ġalso Ġknown Ġas Ġthe ĠTemple Ġof Ġthe ĠJaguar ĠPriest Ġ) Ġwas Ġthe Ġlast Ġof Ġthe Ġgreat Ġpy ramids Ġto Ġbe Ġbuilt Ġat ĠTik al Ġ. ĠIt Ġstood Ġ55 Ġmetres Ġ( Ġ180 Ġft Ġ) Ġtall Ġand Ġcontained Ġan Ġelabor ately Ġsculpt ed Ġbut Ġdamaged Ġroof Ġl intel Ġ, Ġpossibly Ġshowing ĠDark ĠSun Ġengaged Ġin Ġa Ġritual Ġdance Ġaround ĠAD Ġ8 10 Ġ. ĠThe Ġtemple Ġshrine Ġpossesses Ġtwo Ġchambers Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠTemple ĠIV Ġis Ġthe Ġtallest Ġtemple Ġ@ - @ Ġpyramid Ġat ĠTik al Ġ, Ġmeasuring Ġ70 Ġmetres Ġ( Ġ230 Ġft Ġ) Ġfrom Ġthe Ġplaza Ġfloor Ġlevel Ġto Ġthe Ġtop Ġof Ġits Ġroof Ġcomb Ġ. ĠTemple ĠIV Ġmarks Ġthe Ġreign Ġof ĠY ik ĠâĢ Ļ Ġin ĠChan ĠKaw il Ġ( ĠRuler ĠB Ġ, Ġthe Ġson Ġof ĠRuler ĠA Ġor ĠJas aw ĠChan ĠK Ġ' awi il ĠI Ġ) Ġand Ġtwo Ġcarved Ġwooden Ġl int els Ġover Ġthe Ġdoorway Ġthat Ġleads Ġinto Ġthe Ġtemple Ġon Ġthe Ġpyramid ĠâĢ Ļ Ġs Ġsummit Ġrecord Ġa Ġlong Ġcount Ġdate Ġ( Ġ9 Ġ@ . @ Ġ15 Ġ@ . @ Ġ10 Ġ@ . @ Ġ0 Ġ@ . @ Ġ0 Ġ) Ġthat Ġcorresponds Ġto ĠCE Ġ7 41 Ġ( ĠShare r Ġ1994 Ġ: Ġ169 Ġ) Ġ. ĠTemple ĠIV Ġis Ġthe Ġlargest Ġpyramid Ġbuilt Ġanywhere Ġin Ġthe ĠMaya Ġregion Ġin Ġthe Ġ8 th Ġcentury Ġ, Ġand Ġas Ġit Ġcurrently Ġstands Ġis Ġthe Ġtallest Ġpre Ġ@ - @ ĠColumb ian Ġstructure Ġin Ġthe ĠAmericas Ġalthough Ġthe ĠPyramid Ġof Ġthe ĠSun Ġat ĠTe ot ihu acan Ġmay Ġoriginally Ġhave Ġbeen Ġtaller Ġ, Ġas Ġmay Ġhave Ġbeen Ġone Ġof Ġthe Ġstructures Ġat ĠEl ĠMir ador Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠTemple ĠV Ġstands Ġsouth Ġof Ġthe ĠCentral ĠAc ropolis Ġand Ġis Ġthe Ġmort uary Ġpyramid Ġof Ġan Ġas Ġyet Ġunidentified Ġruler Ġ. ĠThe Ġtemple