In the neighbourhood of Cempoala a very interesting series of ruins is to be found. These consist of mounds on which traces of buildings remain, and which, owing to the lack of stone suitable for building in the district, are constructed of a core of waterworn stones set in concrete with good concrete facing. The highly polished concrete facing of Totonac buildings attracted the notice of the Spaniards, who thought at first that they were ornamented with silver plates. The mounds are either of the normal step-pyramid type, or are built in two very distinct tiers, each with a separate balustraded stairway, of the types Fig. 73, _c_ and _e_; p. 321. Both are erected on slightly-raised artificial bases, and the buildings found on the summits are rather more complicated than the simple shrines believed to be characteristic of the Aztec temples. In this respect they bear a closer resemblance to certain of the Maya remains which will be described later. One of these buildings consists of a series of chambers, like the buildings at Quiengola described above (Fig. 32, _a_; p. 175), though on a smaller scale; another consists of a shrine standing free within an exterior building. Other similarities to Oaxaca remains include the presence of pillars to support a roof, found in a building in the neighbourhood, and again on a foundation-mound at San Isidro, immediately south of Misantla; and also numbers of heads, but in this case of clay, which appear to have been inset in the walls. At Texolo are mounds some of which are of earth alone, and these are occasionally arranged in a double row to enclose a court. Stone facing however is not unknown in this district.