The sacbé to the Arch
The Sacbé terminates in the middle plaza of the Miridor Complex labeled "Plazoleta Norte" on the map, which lies between El Miridor and the ceremonial entry Arch. Structure 7, a long building which could have been a Popul Nah or Council House, separates the El Miridor pyramid from the Plazoleta Norte. By going from the palace to the Mirador complex, the White Road connected the royal center of Labná with broader civic and economic groups of infuence.
El Mirador roofcomb tenons
John Lloyd Stephens, visiting in 1842 when more detail was visible, wrote:
Above the cornice of the building rises a gigantic perpendicular wall to the height of thirty feet, once ornamented with colossal figures and other designs in stucco, now broken and in fragments, but still presenting a curious and extraordinary appearance. In all our labours in that country we never studied so diligently to make out from the fragments the combinations and significance of these figures and ornaments.
Human power cannot save it; but in its ruins it gave a grand idea of the scenes of barbaric magnificence which this country must have presented when all her cities were entire. The figures and ornaments on this wall were painted; the remains of bright colours are still visible, defying the action of the elements.
John Lloyd Stevens, Incidents of Travel in Yucatan: New Edition by Karl Ackerman with Historical and Modern Photographs, Smithsonian Institution Press, Washington and London, p. 156-158
Looking back toward palace
On the extreme left of this photo, a tiny portion of the arch can be seen, with collapsed portions of the wall and outbuildings beyond. The start of the sacbey is on the right. The Palace shows through the trees in the background.
El Mirador's massive base
The size of El Mirador can be gauged by the small figure standing on the lower right base of the pyramid. The "handlebar" protrusion beneath the roofcomb on the right was once the lower portion of a stucco human figure decorating the temple.