In the above cut Mr. Bancroft illustrates his opinion. Stephens and Waldeck, who excavated from the summit downwards, imply that the interior D is of earth. Twenty years later Charnay found a perpendicular wall on the eastern side, quite contrary to the observations of all previous travelers. Mr. Bancroft accounts for this on the supposition that the stone facing, loosened by the growth of trees which covered it, had fallen from B to F, and that the earth which filled the sides at E E had been washed away by the rain and left the perpendicular wall exposed at B. Such a supposition we consider to be perfectly probable in view of the rapid dilapidation of the ruins since Dupaix’s visit in 1806. The ancient model thus established in the construction of this, perhaps oldest of existing American cities, may have determined the style of many similar edifices. A plan of the palace has been furnished by several authors.[495] The accompanying restoration from Armin’s _Das Heutige Mexiko_, employed by Mr. Bancroft, may serve to give an idea of the proportions of the structure. The edifice occupies the entire summit platform of the pyramid except a narrow passage-way around the edge, and measures 228 feet by 182, and about 30 feet in height. The doorways, of which there are forty in the outer wall, are wider than the piers intervening between them, and were constructed originally with flat wooden lintels, all of which have disappeared. The main architectural features will be observed in the accompanying plate from Waldeck. The lower right-hand figure shows the angle of the foundations of one of the interior buildings and the manner in which the stones were laid. The left-hand figure affords a sectional view of the eastern stairway descending from the principal corridor into the grand court. It will be observed that the height of the steps considerably exceeds their width. Waldeck illustrates this singular disproportion by a diagram in which a native is represented as sitting upon the stairway. The perpendicular face of a step is shown to be considerably higher than the Indian’s knee, and must have measured two feet. The upper left-hand figures represent the forms of niches, which are of frequent occurrence. The T shaped niche is the representative of a numerous class so resembling the Egyptian _tau_ or cross as to excite no little interest in its origin. M. Waldeck found the marks of lamp-black upon the tops of some of them, and supposes them to have held torches which illuminated the corridors; others, which extend through the walls, may have served for the purposes of ventilation; while others perhaps contained idols.[496] The right-hand upper figures represent the highly artistic double cornices employed. Nothing of a definite nature is known of the style of roof with which the palace was covered, since every vestige of it has disappeared. Castañeda represents it as sloping and plastered,