|
The Great Ball Court of Chichén-Itzá is 545 feet long and 225 feet wide overall. It has no vault, no discontinuity between the walls and is totally open to the sky. Each end has a raised "temple" area. A whisper from one end can be heard clearly at the other end 500 feet away and through the length and breadth of the court. The sound waves are unaffected by wind direction or time of day/night. Archaeologists engaged in the reconstruction noted that the sound transmission became stronger and clearer as they proceeded. It is not hard to imagine a Mayan King sitting here presiding over the games. Legends say that the winning captain would present his head to the losing captain, who would then decapitate him. While this may seem a strange reward, the Mayans believed this to be the ultimate honor, with the winning captain getting a direct ticket to heaven instead of going through the 13 steps that the Mayans believed they had to go through in order to reach Heaven.
| 
North America
view full-size
image -- 866 x 573)