Pakal the Great transformed this Maya city into a glorious centre of power

A broken malachite mask found in the tomb of the “Red Queen” is now believed to have belonged to Pakal’s consort.

Found on a tomb altar, this clay figure may represent a high official of Palenque or its ajaw. It wears a helmet in the likeness of a bird. Powerful figures in Palenque were known to impersonate birds, perhaps to associate themselves with the gods of the sky.

An obsidian ax, circa A.D. 600-900, perhaps represents an ajaw. In Palenque, such objects were deposited in the foundations of buildings or placed in tombs.