Detail of the reconstruction drawing showing the original shape of the roof crest and the placement of stucco figures and other decorations. Watercolor drawing by Tatyana Proskuryakova, published in the Maya Architecture Album, 1946.

Peabody Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology, Harvard University.

Presumably a ceremonial building dedicated to Kukulkan. Most likely, ceremonies similar to those held in temples were conducted here. It was built from rubble and limestone in the early period of the civilization. Like many other buildings, the exterior and interior walls of the Dovecote were carved, and all walls were painted in bright colors. It was also believed to have been constructed to track the movement of celestial bodies and supernatural forces. The building received its modern name due to the characteristic toothed roof crest, which reminded archaeologists of dovecotes. Unfortunately, the structure is very poorly preserved; only a fragment of one wall has survived.

This complex of several large buildings is located in the western part of the center of Uxmal. It was heavily damaged. The results of extensive reconstruction work carried out since 2000 have provided an idea of what the northern part of the building looked like. Based on the quality of stonework and architecture, the complex can be attributed to the early phase of the city's construction, but the buildings were repeatedly rebuilt later. The complex is divided into four large courtyards located in front of the Southern Pyramid. They adjoin it from the north. The northernmost courtyard is bounded by three long buildings. Only the northern part of the courtyard, located on a low platform, remained undeveloped. Two buildings on the western and eastern sides are heavily damaged. They each had two rows of rooms opening on both sides of the buildings. The southern structure, which is also almost completely destroyed, had only one row of rooms. It adjoins a terrace located behind it. This terrace can be accessed by climbing a staircase. This staircase was thrown over the building’s facade, but the passage to the middle rooms remained open.

The free space on the terrace is relatively narrow. It is not bounded on the sides by buildings. There is a direct passage to the foot of the main pyramid. To the south, the terrace borders another terrace, the very one on which the Dovecote itself is located. It is named so because of the large number of slit-like openings in the roof crest. It consists of two parallel rows of rooms, which, however, are not completely symmetrical. The southern side has fewer rooms than the northern. In the middle is a vaulted passage through which one can enter the southern courtyard. The well-preserved roof crest is divided into two horizontal registers. It rests on a thick wall separating the two rows of rooms. The lower register consists of a smooth surface interrupted by narrow openings. The upper register is divided into triangular sectors, each containing seven rows of smaller openings. Their function was to reduce wind resistance. In the middle of each sector, at the level of the lower row of openings, there is a smooth platform with a protruding pin on which a figure once stood. None of these figures have survived. Also, on the remaining area of the crest, there are smaller pins for attaching figures or stucco ornaments. Nothing can be said about the facade decoration as the front walls have not survived.

South of the Dovecote is the next courtyard. It was bounded by the Dovecote to the north, two almost completely destroyed buildings to the west and south, and the main pyramid to the east. The building on the western side of the courtyard had a simple facade. Its cornices and upper parts of the walls were decorated with small columns. The southern building had two rows of rooms and a passage in the middle at the level of the Dovecote arch. This building most likely did not have a roof crest. Later, this passage was blocked by a terrace from the south. The height of this terrace reached the roof of the building. The rooms, therefore, became inaccessible and were filled with construction debris. A staircase was built over the passage leading to the terrace. On this terrace stands the Southern Pyramid, completing this complex of buildings. A long staircase led to the platform at its summit. The temple building consists of the remains of two vaulted rooms. Like the pyramid itself, the sanctuary was relatively narrow. It had three rooms in the first row and one narrow room behind the middle room of the first row. This building plan is more characteristic of the distant southern region of Chenes.

There is also the Southern Pyramid of Uxmal, whose walls are relatively thick and partly faced with unusually large stones. The wall on the front side was higher than the roof level and most likely formed a roof crest. To the south of the pyramid, a row of rooms was found, of which only traces remain. These buildings have not yet been excavated or studied.

Thus, the Dovecote complex stands on three terraces, each higher and smaller than the previous one. It represents a kind of acropolis. The large number of palace buildings indicates that the structures may have had administrative and ceremonial functions or served as the residence of a ruler or a group of nobility.

American researcher of the early Maya period and archaeologist Tatyana Proskuryakova wrote: "When we consider how few roof crests remain standing above the first few rows of stone, the preservation of this particular structure in a group otherwise completely destroyed seems almost miraculous. Even pieces of decorative plaster still cling in places to the stone framework, and traces of color can be discerned here and there. The design is, of course, worn away, but the arrangement of protruding spikes indicates a figure or some other dominant motif in the center of each of the stepped triangular blocks. It is very unlikely that the Maya failed to appreciate the charm that the broken silhouette of such a roof crest could add to the otherwise strict rectangular lines of their buildings."

Sources:

https://our-civilization.com/civilizacia/maja/usmal-2

Dmitry Viktorovich Ivanov: Architecture, History, and Art of Uxmal

https://histterra.ru/top-10-pamyatnikov-arhitektury-drevney-tsivilizatsii-mayya

Tatyana Proskuryakova, Maya Architecture Album