"An arched gateway, remarkable for it's beauty of proportions and grace of ornament, passing through which we entered a thick forest growing in what had once been the courtyard."

John L. Stephens, 1841-1842

The ARCH OF LABNA located along the "Puuc" Route dates back to the end of the Classic Period (900 A.D.). The site at Labna is similar in architectural style to the neighboring sites of Uxmal, Sayil and Kabah identified as the "Puuc" style. (better known as the hilly region of the Yucatán)

It is characteristic of the "Puuc" style in that the lower section of the facade (west side) is less decorated than the intricate geometric lattice pattern applied to the upper section.

Painted, stuccoed figures in a seated position probably accented the openings on each side of the arch, which are separated chambers for some ceremonial purpose.

Above the "stepped-fret" panel, on either side of the monumental portal vault, typical thatched roof huts are depicted in stone, with deep recesses or niches.  The intriguing long-nosed stone mask of the Rain god, Chac, stare from the corners.  Crowning the building, three part "cress elated" roof combs provided a delicate, perforated elegant finish to the structure.

Labna supported a population of 3000 residents, who could amply survive within the city limits by their ingenious use of underground bottle shaped reservoirs (chultunes) cared out of the rock, to conserve the water of the six month rainy season, without the more usual foundation of settlement which coincided with the natural "cenotes" or wells.

Such a size of population would indicate a substantial importance, but the informal layout of the palace structures and the inter-relationship with other buildings counterbalances this theory.