On the east side of the Gran Plaza [1], a wide bank of stairs lead up to the Gran Acropolis, an artificial platform 160 meters (539 feet) wide and 7.5 meters (25 feet) high. It was the center of ceremonial life at Edzná [2], and contains the site’s most significant structure, the 31-meter (102-foot) Temple of Five Stories.
Visible above the vegetation from a great distance, the imposing pyramid can be climbed, with some difficulty, by way of the crumbling front stairway. From the top is a view of Edzná’s arid but verdant surroundings; some of the brush-covered mounds are actually unexcavated structures.
The temple underwent at least five distinct construction periods, each one adding to the last. The temple’s first four levels were probably used by priests as living quarters; a shrine and altar are on the highest level, with a roof comb (a decorative element built to make the pyramid appear even higher) rising over that.
At one time, this comb was covered with ornate stucco masks and carvings, and the rest of the building’s stones were coated with smooth stucco and painted brilliant colors.
Flanking the Temple of Five Stories on the Gran Acropolis are several smaller structures, including the Northwest Temple, Southwest Temple, and the House of the Moon, with its steep stairs leading to vestiges of rooms on the top platform. Like the chambers in the main temple, rooms in and around the smaller structures also probably served as residences for priests.
Links:
[1] http://www.moon.com/destinations/cancun-the-yucatan/the-state-campeche/ruins-near-campeche-city/edzna-archaeological-zone/gran-plaza
[2] http://www.moon.com/destinations/cancun-the-yucatan/the-state-campeche/ruins-near-campeche-city/edzna-archaeological-zone