- JesusW
- First Reviewer
- 5 out of 5
- Avg. Member Rating
- 4
- Reviews
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17
- Photos
Editor Pick
Site Museum
- May 22, 2007
- Rated 5 of 5 by
ArnyZona from Venlo, Netherlands
If you followed my journal about the ruins, you will reach the museum after a nice but maybe strenuous hike through the jungle. Maybe you want to rest a bit and get a cool drink? How convenient, next to the museum is a little restaurant! I can recommend it, because the museum is air-conditioned and you want to cool of after that sweaty hike. So you won't get a cold.
The entrance fee is included in the park/site entrance. But you have to sign the register before you get in. Explanations are in English and Spanish. The exhibit in the museum is excellent and is comparable to modern museums in Europe and USA. Highlights are the detailed bronze portraits and busts and the superb reliefs.
Photographing in the museum is allowed, as long as you don't use a flash. And not using a flash is preferable since most of the objects are behind glass!
The maquette / map of the ancient Maya city that is displayed in the museum, will give you a good view how the site would have looked like some hundreds of years ago. It also can be a bit discouraging if you plan to hike back over the hill to visit the rest of the site if you followed my route to avoid the crowds in the archaeological site.
If you want to continue the route, be prepared that you will be the only one going uphill and sometimes you will have to wait for a large group of people coming down the hill.
After the steep climb, you will see people everywhere and Maya's selling their arts/crafts on every shady spot.
That's why you had to get up early...
From journal Palenque; and How to Avoid the Crowds...
At the Museum: The Incense Burners
- January 14, 2007
- Rated 4 of 5 by
JesusW from Mexico city, Mexico
At the museum entrance you will be amazed by the Incense Burners, they are huge offers 3 feet tall and highly decorated.
Normally they depict a God or a King, with headdress in the form of birds and a smaller representation of other Gods riding the birds.
On top of this "totemic" column a receptacle was positioned and it that the incense (frankincense) and blood were burned to invoke the gods.
Hundreds of this burners were located in the excavation of the platforms of the Cross Groups, the best are displayed at the museum and the rest are stored in the warehouse.
From journal Palenque: Incredible Architecture
Site Museum, Part 2
- February 4, 2005
- Rated 5 of 5 by
JesusW from Mexico city, Mexico
The symbols and drawings you can see all over the temples and walls do relate the story of the kings and their activities. Some of the little figurines were modeled after the royal people and include detailed clothing and jewelry.
The artisans of the time were highly skilled, note the realism of the human representations, both in the ceramic and the carvings, when compared with the paintings recently found in many new excavations.
From journal Palenque: Incredible Architecture
Site Museum
- February 3, 2005
- Rated 5 of 5 by
JesusW from Mexico city, Mexico
The museum has very good lighting and nice shelves to show the artifacts, but the glass windows make it a little difficult to take photos, and flash photography is forbidden, making it harder for film cameras. My advice: use a digital camera with high ASA/ISO settings (800-1600 works nicely). There are some nice models of the palace and other buildings.
From journal Palenque: Incredible Architecture