Structure II

18.1054°N, 89.8108°W.

Structure II is the largest pyramid at Calakmul, deep in the Petén jungle of Campeche, Mexico, and one of the most massive single structures of the Maya world. Built by the Snake Kingdom (Kaan dynasty) over successive Late Preclassic and Classic Period phases beginning around 400 BCE, the pyramid rises roughly 45 metres above the plaza on a base measuring 120 by 120 metres of cut and stacked limestone. The summit holds multiple tombs, including the burial of Yuknoom Yich'aak K'ahk', successor to Yuknoom the Great, whose jade death-mask was recovered intact in 1997. The structure was modified at least nine times, each successive phase encasing the earlier core without removing it. Calakmul rivaled Tikal as the dominant Maya superpower for two centuries before its sudden eighth-century collapse. The site was first reported by aerial surveyor Cyrus Lundell in 1931, who flew over the unbroken Petén forest and saw the pyramid breaking the canopy.

Structure II is a building that swallowed every earlier version of itself instead of replacing them.