He states that in that place there were several stone edifices. He made a plan of the largest of them from which it is evident that they were of the same character as those at Uxmal. Tihoo was occupied by the Spanish forces in 1541, and the terraces, upon which were placed the principal buildings, were given to the Franciscans as a site for their convent. The friars began their work in 1547. Thus only six years had elapsed since the Indians had left their town. Landa’s descriptions of the state and condition of the ancient ruins are therefore of the greatest assistance in forming conclusions with regard to them. The principal edifice was placed upon the highest of three terraces, each of which was surrounded or faced by thick walls, and approached by steps. There was a large interior quadrangle having ranges of rooms or cells occupying the four sides. These were similar to those in the “House of the Nuns” at Uxmal. In the vicinity there were several pyramids which had small temples on their summits. It was observed that all these structures appeared to have been disused for a considerable period. The Franciscans found that the Indian structures were covered with thick brushwood. This was cleared away. The buildings were destroyed and the materials supplied the stone required for their church and convent.[102] The fact that the desertion of the temples had occurred before the arrival of the Spaniards is important. It explains many of the circumstances then existing in Yucatan which otherwise would be unintelligible. When the conquerors settled in that land they were surprised to find numerous stone buildings in various parts of the country, all of which were unoccupied. They were informed that they had not been abandoned in consequence of their conquest. They found that it was impracticable to obtain from the natives any explanation of the nature of the events which had happened and had caused this change. Thus the problem regarding the purposes of these extensive buildings, and the architectural skill of the constructors was as obscure to them at that time as it is now to the present inhabitants. At Izamal, about thirty-five miles east of Tihoo, there were also numerous temples, and it was noticed by Landa that there were evidences of there having been a paved road between the two places. A Franciscan convent was established at Izamal, and a brief account of its temples was written in 1663 by Father Lizana, in which he states, with respect to the ruins in Yucatan, that the deserted edifices appeared to have been of one style of architecture, and that some of them were so perfect that it might be said that twenty years had not elapsed since they were built. These edifices were however, he observes, not inhabited by the Indians when the Spaniards arrived. The natives lived scattered in huts amongst the woods, but they used them as temples or sanctuaries, and occasionally performed religious ceremonies and fasts there.[103]