Hieroglyphic Staircase Reassembly and Epigraphy

The Hieroglyphic Stairway, which is an 8th century stone monument leading to one of Copan’s temples, is beautifully carved with over 2,000 hieroglyphic symbols on the risers of its 64 steps. When first found and studied by Harvard’s Peabody Museum in 1890, the stairway was found in a collapsed, jumbled state. The challenge of reconstructing the stairway, preserving it, and deciphering the meanings of its carvings is ongoing.
Recent insights into the decipherment of Maya scripts, paired with 3-D technology have contribute to a greater understanding and more precise reassembling of the hieroglyphic stairway.