MCHJ+74 Chichen Itza, Yucatan, Mexico
The name Akab Dzib in the Mayan language means "House of Mysterious Writings," not because of “dark spells resembling incantations,” but because they have not yet been deciphered. These undeciphered hieroglyphs were found on the lintel of one of the inner doors in the southern part of the building, in front of a sculpture of a priest sitting on a throne. The lintel bears the date 10.2.1.0.0. according to the Mayan calendar, which corresponds to the year 869. An earlier name of the building, according to the translation of the hieroglyphs in the Chichanchoob language, is Wa(k)vak Puh Ak Na, "flat house with an excessive number of rooms," and it was the house of the administrator of Chichen Itza, Kokom Yahawal Cho 'K'ak'.
Akab Dzib consists of a central building 54 meters long, 16 meters wide, and 6 meters high, containing two rooms connected at the north and south ends. Two other identical buildings were constructed centuries after the main one, each containing eight rooms covered with vaults or false arches. The entire structure consists of three sections with eighteen rooms; the carved facades face east. The complex has seven doorways on the western facade and four on the eastern side, with a large staircase leading to the roof. Archaeologists believe this was the front facade, offering a view from above of what was once a cenote. There is one entrance in the southern part of the building. Then a small room is revealed, and on the opposite wall, there is another doorway with glyphs carved on the lintel. Inside, on the vaults of some rooms, red-painted hands can be seen, possibly connected to Kabʼul, the god of the “heavenly hand.”
Akab Dzib in Chichen Itza is located near the Women's Monastery and almost behind the observatory. Additionally, it is the last building at the end of the road.
Sources:
https://mayanpeninsula.com/akab-dzib-chichen-itza
https://www.chichenitza.com/the-akab-dzib
