Pakal’s Tomb and Stucco Figures

Pacal’s tomb, originally in the Temple of the Inscriptions in Palenque, Chiapas, features stucco figures holding staffs with K’awiil, the patron deity of royalty. These figures may represent the nine rulers before Pacal or the Nine Lords of the Night from the Popol Vuh, deities of the underworld. K’inich Janaab Pakal I, or Pacal the Great, ruled Palenque for 68 years, leaving a legacy of monumental architecture and inscriptions.