The Third Ruined City

Episode 28 - The Third Manuscript directs our heroes to search for the Forest of Terracotta statues. This may have been based on a cluster of stelae called the Forest of Kings near Coban. Unfortunately, I couldn't find a picture of them but here is the picture of another stelae.

stele (st´l), slab of stone or terra-cotta, usually oblong, set up in a vertical position, for votive or memorial purposes. Upon the slabs were carved inscriptions accompanied by ornamental designs or reliefs of particular significance. Stelae were often used as commemorative stones in ancient Egypt and as boundary markers in Mesopotamia. The marble funerary stelae of Greece, especially of Athens, are among the most beautiful monuments of classical art. Likenesses of the dead were sculptured in relief and painted upon them. Stelae of great age are found in China and among the ruins of the Mayan culture in Mexico and Central America.

The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. Copyright © 2001 Columbia University Press.

Copan - (kpän´) (KEY) , ruined city of the Maya, W Honduras, in a small river valley of the same name. Copán is noted for its fine sculptured stele and majestic architecture. The ruins were the site of extensive research and restoration from the mid-1930s to the 1950s. Copán was a rich and powerful city-state during the Classic Maya period. The construction material used at the site, volcanic stone, makes it one of the most well-preserved Classic Maya sites. After 1975, the decipherment of the Maya hieroglyphs allowed investigators to read many of the inscriptions at the site and to reconstruct its dynastic history between the years A.D. 426 and 850. The inscriptions reveal that Copán was ruled by a single dynastic lineage of 16 rulers during this period. Excavations that began in 1989 uncovered a set of extremely well-preserved older monuments beneath the main pyramid and the adjoining acropolis. These include the likely tombs of the founder of the ruling dynasty, Sun-eyed Green Quetzal Macaw, and his wife. Ceramic offerings indicate this ruler was closely allied with Teotihuacán, the great urban center in the Valley of Mexico. The Hieroglyphic Stairway, comprising nearly 2,000 glyphs, and Altar Q, a stela depicting the 16 kings of Copán, are considered two of the most important Classic Maya monuments at the site.

http://www.bartleby.com/65/co/Copan.html

Episode 28 - Near the Forest of Statues, Esteban and company find the entrance to a cave that leads them into the Third Ruined City. Some have speculated that this city is based on the Loltun caves. I don't see the resemblance but that's okay.

Loltún is actually a set of limestone caverns. ...in the Yucatan they are called Loltún Grutas. The caverns are located in the hills of the Puuc area of Yucatán, and contain several galleries. From about 1200 A.D. to colonial times it was used as a source of water, and the Maya also tapped its clay and stone for the manufacture of various items.
It was, moreover, an important place of worship, as can be seen in the numerous glyphs and paintings inside. There are handprints and depictions of animals and human figures. A relief inside one gallery is of particular interest the so-called Loltún Warrior.
It depicts a high-ranking, richly outfitted man with a spear in his right hand. Engraved on the rock above him is a row of glyphs. Because of its style, this relief is believed to date from the pre-Classic period.
The caverns are entered on one end, near the ticket booth and from there you descend down recently made stairways virtually into the belly of the earth. After you enter the caverns the only modern vestige remaining is the lighting which has been installed. The climb is not a difficult one, however, the trek inside the mountain is probably more than 500 or 600 meters.
The name Lol - Tun in Yucatecan Mayan comes from Lol meaning flower and Tun meaning stone. There is a place in the caverns where the "Musical" columns, formed by the union of stalactites and stalagmites produce sounds with different tones when they are hit with rocks. The sounds are Lol and Tun.
In one part of the cavern known as "Huechil", meaning Armadillo in Mayan, a series of archaelogical excavations have been performed. The excavations unearthed mammoth, bison, feline and other animals bones, indicating that at one time this site was colder than the present.
Other items have been found throughout the caverns such as man made stone tools, pottery, marine shells, stone artifacts, basrelief carvings and mural paintings.
"Haltunes" or artificial containers carved in the rock for gathering natural dripping water have also been discovered at Loltún. There are also 19th. century barricades constructed by rebel Maya who used this and other such caves as shelter during the "War of Castes".

http://www.mayan-world.com/caves.htm