The Temple of the Inscriptions is probably the most famous building in Palenque. It rises over a pyramid composed of nine levels visible on its front side, reaching a height of about 21 meters (about 100 feet). The top temple has five doorways and is covered by a masonry vault. The entrance pillars are decorated with stucco reliefs and its interior walls are covered by the second longest glyphic inscription of the entire Maya area, which is how the temple came to be named.
The most famous finding related to this building is the subterranean access discovered in 1952 by the archaeologist Alberto Ruiz Lhuiller leading to the burial chamber of Pakal the Great, one of the most important rulera of Palenque, who governed the city in the 7th century AD.