Yucatan - February 2009
Calakmul
Grand Acropolis
Temple XI - The Ball Court

Temple XI, the Ball Court, is located in the center of the Grand Acropolis.  It had a stela that interested me.  I did not feel anything from this temple; it was just another ball court to me.


According to the INAH Plaque accompanying this temple, Temple XI (Roman numeral “11”) is an “open” type of Ball Court with no hoops or markers.  It is of Late Classic construction and seems to break away from the earlier power structures and marks a reorientation of the site’s architectural style.  Archaeologists suspect Temple XI/the Ball Court was inaugurated towards the second half of the 8th Century A.D. (around 750 A.D.) because a stela used as building materials on the corners of the temple had an inscribed date of August 22, 731.

The north side of Temple XI - the Ball Court in the Grand Acropolis at Calakmul
Stela around Temple XI