to CS. 2, U. 15 to CS. 3, and other units as already noted to CS. 4–12.
Construction Stage 1 is defined for features on the summit pavement; minimally some sort of platform represented by U. 19. Built of masonry blocks on the surface of U. 14, its W face stood 2.70 m in from the top of the last riser of U. 18. With a height of 0.60 m, it may be ruled out as a mere upper level of the 7F-30-5th summit. Unfortunately, excavation was not sufficient to reveal its lateral extent, and eventual destruction by the Maya 0.60 m E of its W face precludes determination of its E-W dimension. Perhaps at the same time that its back portion was ripped out, all plaster was removed from its W face and top.
Whether or not U. 19 ranks as an “interior platform” (perhaps a freestanding one, like U. 66 and 67 of Str. 5D-22-1st; TR. 14:378) is not known, for excavations were too limited to provide evidence for or against the existence of a building. Because a vaulted building of masonry was part of contemporary Str. 7F-32-2nd, the same may have been true here. No vault stones from demolition of such an edifice were found. Numerous fragments of stucco, most of which bore traces of paint, were discovered overlying Plat. 7F-1:U. 5. Although they could have been brought in from anywhere with material to be used for fill, proximity to Str. 7F-30-5th favors it as their source. Similar to stucco from Early Classic structures at Uaxactun (TR. 2:33), these pieces could be from a building, but could as well be from substructure ornamentation. So when all is said and done, we simply do not know whether or not the summit of 30-5th stood open or was roofed.
So far, this necessarily extensive discussion of Str. 7F-30-5th has dealt with those architectural elements seen in the deep trench through the presumed structure axis. Various walls and floors that may also relate to 5th were encountered in the two tunnels, as well as within the trench into Str. 7F-31. It is these that are discussed next.
Unit 16 and 17 are retaining walls that were encountered in the N and S tunnels, respectively (Fig. 4). Both run roughly N-S, but they are not well aligned with one another; U. 16 runs 6 degrees W of magnetic N, whereas U. 17 runs 6 degrees E of magnetic N. The masonry, too, is very roughly dressed. Unit 16 ends at a NW corner in the N tunnel; with the wall that runs E it forms a 75-degree angle. Unit 17 runs S of the trench through Str. 7F-31, but where it ends is unknown.
Unit 17 is positioned, roughly, in line with the first riser of U. 18, the supposed stairway for Str. 7F-30-5th. Unit 16 is positioned 0.60 m or so W of the stairway. The top of U. 17 is at the same elevation as the top (fourth) tread of U. 15; it too is abutted by Plat. 7F-3:U. 4, and Plat. 7F-3:U. 5 runs over its top. Given these relationships, along with their rough dressing and alignment, U. 16 and 17 are interpreted as fill-retaining walls. Presumably, they are analogous to U. 2, having retained structure fill prior to construction of the W terrace (Plat. 7F-3). Unit 15 of Str. 7F-30-5th would have been an aid in carrying up the fill for these walls once Plat. 7F-3:U. 1 was in place, for from here up U. 13 would have been behind the wall cutting off access to it. Once the W terrace was completed, the 4.60 m of U. 16 N of the terrace must have been plastered and incorporated into the facing of Str. 7F-30-5th, for the N wall of the terrace abuts this wall.
If the above is correct, then it offers further support for the hypothesis that Str. 7F-30-5th was served by U. 18. Otherwise, U. 13 would have to have been wholly inset relative to U. 16 and 17, which is virtually unheard of for stairways at Tikal in Classic times.
Given the scanty data available, the overall appearance of Str. 7F-30-5th is difficult to visualize. With U. 18 a fully projecting stairway, its final riser would mark the front of the actual structure. Assumed is axial placement, reasonable considering that later stairways for 7F-30 were so placed, and that this was common practice at Tikal, at least in Classic times. Moreover, axial placement was common for burials comparable to 160, in front of which U. 18 was observed (but note exceptions, such as Bu. 116 beneath Str. 5D-1; TR. 14:609). Unknown is how wide the stairs were, for they run N and S of their exposure in the deep trench. They are arbitrarily reconstructed in Fig. 4 as the same length as those for 30-1st, which puts their N end perhaps 0.60 m N of the deep trench. They could not have ended much farther S, or their N end would have been exposed in the trench.
An E-W dimension for 7F-30-5th comparable to that of the contemporary Str. 7F-32-2nd substructure is reasonable in view of what is known (and not known) about the back of 30-5th. Where its N and S walls lay is even more problematical. Its S wall must lie N of the trench through Str. 7F-31, as Plat. 7F-3:U. 8 was encountered beneath the grave of Bu. 159 (see Fig. 11). The shape of the mound overlying the ruins of Str. 7F-30 suggests that, in its later forms, its lateral dimension was less than that of 7F-32-2nd. To anticipate later conclusions, we suspect 30-5th to have been a temple, and suggest a ratio of length-to-breadth similar to that of Str. 5D-22-2nd (TR. 14), a structure probably in use when 7F-30-5th was built. But in the face of so many uncertainties, one must be cautious. The best that can be hoped for is a rough idea of what 7F-30-5th was like, but no more.
STRUCTURE 7F-30-4TH
Although this has a less complex construction sequence than 5th (Fig. 6, 10, and 11), there are still problems of interpretation. One thing seems clear: operations began with partial demolition of features that were part of 5th (see preceding discussion), and this defines CS. 3. As this proceeded, the floor of 5th (U. 14) and 0.20 m of fill beneath were removed, at least at its eastern and western extent. On the W, this may have been less extensive than on the E, where paving was removed up to a point 2.60 m in from U. 6. Here, a new plaster surface (U. 24) was laid (in CS. 2) at an elevation 0.20 m below the older U. 14. Burial 140 is thought to have intruded into 5th on its front-rear axis at this time.
As CS. 2, a new substructure, represented in the deep trench by U. 20 through 24, was built over what was left of the older one. Unit 20 is the remains of a stairway that was built on Plat. 7F-3:U. 8. A projection of its surviving four steps upwards meets the base of U. 21, a single course of masonry set into the gray earth fill of 7F-30-4th. Apparently, this is the top step of the same stairway as U. 20; the intervening steps are missing owing to later intrusion of Bu. 132. Running E 2.40 m from the top of U. 21 is a floor, U. 22, which probably once ran as far as the rear wall of the structure. Its partial destruction stems from the later placement of PD. 103, probably Bu. 150, and construction of Str. 7F-30-2nd. In the fill beneath U. 21 is Ca. 162, which is aligned with Bu. 140 (see below).
The Maya may have retained the original rear of 7F-30 in the new 4th, just as the original substructure of nearby Str. 7F-32 was retained in all subsequent versions. This possibility for 7F-30, however, was never investigated and so remains speculative. What is known is that the Maya built a new wall—U. 23—at least 2 m W of its face, on the surface exposed after removal of U. 14. Surviving now as a single course of masonry, U. 23 seems to be the base of a wall that must have been as high as U. 22. From the base of U. 23 a pavement, U. 24, runs E onto the top of U. 6. Evidently, the substructure of 4th consisted of a supplementary platform, topped by what may be a building platform. Unfortunately, excavations were too limited to reveal traces of a building, if one was present. Since there are clues that one may have been part of 3rd, the possibility must be allowed for 4th as well, and for its construction a provisional CS. 1 is defined.
The only other architecture referable to 7F-30-4th (seen in the S tunnel) was a wall, U. 25 (Fig. 6). Built on Plat. 7F-3:U. 5, Plat. 7F-3:U. 8 runs up to the W side of its base, and therein lies a problem. In the deep trench, the basal step of Str. 7F-30:U. 18 is based above Plat. 7F-3:U. 5 and is in union with Plat 7F-3:U. 8. From this, one might suppose that the basal step of U. 18 and 7F-30:U. 25 are parts of the same architectural entity. The trouble is, though, that it would require a fully inset stairway, which is unheard of in Intermediate Classic Tikal architecture. The only outset stairway that could possibly go with U. 25 is U. 20. There is, though, an alternative reconstruction: after Str. 7F-30-5th had been in use for a while, modifications were carried out on Plat. 7F-3, in the course of which Plat. 7F-3:U. 8 was laid. Although its basal step was altered in the process, 7F-30-5th continued in use with no other modification (Fig. 5). Then, just prior to building 7F-30-4th, the Maya began the removal of Plat. 7F-3:U. 8 where the new W wall
