The discovery in 1952 of the extraordinary tomb of King Pakal under the Temple of the Inscriptions shook up the conventional belief that the pyramids were simply foundations supporting the sanctuaries. Surrounded by jade jewellery, the king’s remains lie under a large slab of stone decorated with a superb bas-relief (access to the crypt is closed; see the reproductions at the site museum and at the Anthropology Museum in Mexico City). In the temple, three panels engraved with hieroglyphs recount the history of Palenque from the early 6C to the end of the reign of Pacal (late 7C).