Hieroglyphic Stairway

E178563

Maya monument archaeological structure hieroglyphic inscription

The Hieroglyphic Stairway is a monumental carved staircase at the Maya site of Copán in Honduras, famed for its extensive hieroglyphic inscriptions that record the dynasty’s history.

Try in SPARQL Jump to: Surface forms Disambiguation Statements Elicitation Referenced by

All labels observed (3)

Label	Occurrences
Hieroglyphic Stairway canonical	2
Hieroglyphic Stairway of Temple 26	1
hieroglyphic stairway of Structure 26	1

How this entity was disambiguated

This entity first appeared as the object of triple T1577371 — resolving that mention is where its identity was fixed. The disambiguator weighed these candidate entities and picked the highlighted one (or “None”, minting a new entity). This is how homonymy is resolved: the same surface form can point to different entities.

NED1 Entity disambiguation (via context triple) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Hieroglyphic Stairway
Context triple: [Copán, knownFor, Hieroglyphic Stairway]

A. Dream Stele of Thutmose IV
The Dream Stele of Thutmose IV is an ancient Egyptian inscribed stone slab commemorating a dream in which the future pharaoh was promised kingship by the sun god if he cleared the sand from the Great Sphinx of Giza.
B. Narmer Macehead
The Narmer Macehead is an ancient ceremonial stone macehead from early dynastic Egypt, notable for its carved scenes that likely commemorate King Narmer’s royal ceremonies or military victories and provide key evidence for the formation of the Egyptian state.
C. The Pyramid
The Pyramid is the popular nickname for the Transamerica Pyramid, a distinctive, pyramid-shaped skyscraper and iconic feature of the San Francisco skyline.
D. The Pyramid
The Pyramid is a massive pyramid-shaped arena and entertainment complex in Memphis, Tennessee, known for its distinctive architecture and current use as a Bass Pro Shops megastore and tourist attraction.
E. Lahun Pyramid
The Lahun Pyramid is a Middle Kingdom Egyptian pyramid built by Pharaoh Senusret II, notable for its mudbrick core, complex substructure, and association with the nearby workers’ town at el-Lahun.
F. None of above. chosen
G. Unsure - the case is ambiguous/there is not enough information to decide.

NED2 Entity disambiguation (via description) gpt-5-mini-2025-08-07

Target entity: Hieroglyphic Stairway
Target entity description: The Hieroglyphic Stairway is a monumental carved staircase at the Maya site of Copán in Honduras, famed for its extensive hieroglyphic inscriptions that record the dynasty’s history.

A. Dream Stele of Thutmose IV
The Dream Stele of Thutmose IV is an ancient Egyptian inscribed stone slab commemorating a dream in which the future pharaoh was promised kingship by the sun god if he cleared the sand from the Great Sphinx of Giza.
B. Narmer Macehead
The Narmer Macehead is an ancient ceremonial stone macehead from early dynastic Egypt, notable for its carved scenes that likely commemorate King Narmer’s royal ceremonies or military victories and provide key evidence for the formation of the Egyptian state.
C. The Pyramid
The Pyramid is a massive pyramid-shaped arena and entertainment complex in Memphis, Tennessee, known for its distinctive architecture and current use as a Bass Pro Shops megastore and tourist attraction.
D. The Pyramid
The Pyramid is the popular nickname for the Transamerica Pyramid, a distinctive, pyramid-shaped skyscraper and iconic feature of the San Francisco skyline.
E. Lahun Pyramid
The Lahun Pyramid is a Middle Kingdom Egyptian pyramid built by Pharaoh Senusret II, notable for its mudbrick core, complex substructure, and association with the nearby workers’ town at el-Lahun.
F. None of above. chosen

Statements (48)

Predicate	Object
instanceOf	Maya monument ⓘ archaeological structure ⓘ hieroglyphic inscription ⓘ
approximateConstructionCentury	8th century ⓘ
artStyle	Classic Maya sculpture ⓘ
associatedRuler	Kʼakʼ Yipyaj Chan Kʼawiil ⓘ Uaxaclajuun Ubʼaah Kʼawiil ⓘ
civilization	Classic Maya ⓘ
conservationStatus	partially restored ⓘ
country	Honduras ⓘ
culture	Maya civilization ⓘ
dedicatedTo	Copán dynasty ⓘ
discoveredBy	19th-century explorers ⓘ
function	dynastic record ⓘ monumental staircase ⓘ
hasFeature	carved risers with hieroglyphic texts ⓘ reconstructed glyph blocks ⓘ sculpted seated figures on steps ⓘ
heritageStatus	part of UNESCO World Heritage Site "Maya Site of Copán" ⓘ
inscriptionType	historical inscription ⓘ
language	Classic Maya language ⓘ linked to: Classical Maya language
locatedIn	Copán ⓘ Copán Archaeological Site ⓘ linked to: Copán Copán Department ⓘ Honduras ⓘ Mesoamerica ⓘ
managedBy	Instituto Hondureño de Antropología e Historia ⓘ
material	stone ⓘ
near	Copán Ruinas ⓘ linked to: Copán
numberOfGlyphBlocks	over 2200 ⓘ
numberOfSteps	approximately 63 ⓘ
orientation	part of eastern side of Temple 26 ⓘ
partOf	Acropolis of Copán ⓘ linked to: Copán Temple 26 ⓘ
period	Classic period ⓘ
records	accession of Copán rulers ⓘ history of the Copán dynasty ⓘ ritual events at Copán ⓘ
region	western Honduras ⓘ
significance	key source for Copán political history ⓘ one of the longest known Maya hieroglyphic texts ⓘ
subjectOf	epigraphic studies of Maya writing ⓘ
theme	ritual and dedication ceremonies ⓘ royal genealogy ⓘ warfare and alliances ⓘ
touristAttraction	yes ⓘ
UNESCOWorldHeritageSiteSince	1980 ⓘ
writingSystem	Maya hieroglyphs ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (4)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Copán → knownFor → Hieroglyphic Stairway ⓘ

Copán → hasStructure → Hieroglyphic Stairway ⓘ

Uaxaclajuun Ubʼaah Kʼawiil → notableWork → Hieroglyphic Stairway of Temple 26 ⓘ

linked to: Hieroglyphic Stairway

Maya of Copán → hasArchitecturalFeature → hieroglyphic stairway of Structure 26 ⓘ