Pyramid of the Magician

마법사의 피라미드

The Pyramid of the Magician is a step pyramid in the ancient Maya city of Uxmal, in the Yucatán region of Mexico. It is the tallest and most recognizable building in Uxmal, about 35 m high. Unlike most pyramids, its plan is oval, with rounded ends.

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At a glance

Country: Mexico
Location: Uxmal, Yucatán, Mexico
Built: c. 560–1000
Height: 35 m
Type: Ancient site

Quick answers

Where is Pyramid of the Magician?

Pyramid of the Magician is in Uxmal, Yucatán, Mexico.

How tall is Pyramid of the Magician?

Pyramid of the Magician is about 35 m tall.

A Maya pyramid with a unique oval plan and rounded ends, said in legend to have been raised by a dwarf magician in one night.

Uxmal lies in the Puuc region and was one of the largest cities in the Yucatán. At its peak, around 25,000 people lived there. UNESCO named Uxmal a World Heritage Site in 1996 because its buildings show the high point of late Maya art and architecture. The pyramid sits at the entrance to the central court.

Legend and history

A Maya legend says a dwarf magician raised the pyramid in a single night, which explains its Spanish name, Pirámide del Adivino.

Archaeologists have found that it was built in stages. Work on the first temple began in the 6th century AD and kept growing for about 400 years. The city flourished from AD 600 to 1000. Its western face looks over the Nunnery Quadrangle.

Rediscovery and care

After about 1000 the pyramid fell into disrepair, and it was looted during the Spanish conquest. In 1838 Jean-Frédéric Waldeck published the first detailed account of the ruins. Then John Lloyd Stephens and the artist Frederick Catherwood visited between 1839 and 1841, and their book made Uxmal known to the world.

In the early 1970s Mexico's national institute for archaeology (INAH) carried out a big conservation project to strengthen the pyramid.