The Structural Function of Cross Beams During Vault Construction in the Maya Palace of the Governor at Uxmal, Yucatan

Abstract

The Puuc style Maya Palace of the Governor at Uxmal, Yucatan (900-915 CE) is a single-story structure with a long, narrow profile, built on a rectangular plan composed by 20 vaulted rooms. The vaults are monolithic structures formed by two inclined planar surfaces, with the intrados defined by finely fit facing stones tenoned into a concrete core of limestone fragments immersed in lime mortar. At the intrados, a regular pattern of wooden cross beams connects the two planar faces of the vault. We test the role of the cross beams in maintaining static equilibrium during construction using linear FE models based on published material properties of Maya concrete and rigid-body mechanics. Results indicate that cross beams are necessary to prevent overturning conditions both at the vault springing and at base of the supporting wall during construction.