Mayan tomb seen after 1,500 years
Source: Agencies |
June 25, 2011, Saturday
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A SMALL, remote-controlled camera lowered into an early Mayan tomb in southern Mexico has revealed an apparently intact funeral chamber with offerings and red-painted wall murals, according to researchers.
Footage of the approximately 1,500-year-old tomb at the Palenque archaeological site showed a series of nine figures depicted in black on a vivid, blood-red background.
Archaeologists say the images from one of the earliest ruler's tombs found at Palenque will shed new light on the early years of the once-great city state.
The National Institute of Anthropology and History said archaeologists have known about the tomb since 1999, but have been unable to enter it because the pyramid above it is unstable and breaking into the chamber could damage the murals.
It said the floor appears to be covered with detritus and it is not immediately evident if the tomb contains recognizable remains. But archaeologist Martha Cuevas said the jade and shell fragments seen on the video are "part of a funerary costume."
The chamber was found in a heavily deteriorated pyramid complex known as the Southern Acropolis, in a jungle-covered area of Palenque not far from the Temple of Inscriptions, where the tomb of a later ruler, Pakal, was found in the 1950s.
While Pakal's tomb featured a famous and heavily carved sarcophagus, no such structure is seen in the footage, taken in April and released on Thursday. The institute said in a statement that "it is very probable that the fragmented bones are lying directly on the stones of the floor."
But Cuevas said the discovery shed new light on early rulers, and its proximity to other burial sites suggested the tomb may be part of a funerary complex.
"This leads us to consider that the Southern Acropolis was used as a royal necropolis," Cuevas said.
The tomb's floor occupies about 5 square meters, with a low, Mayan-arch roof of overlapping stones. Experts say it probably dates to between 431 and 550 AD.
Some experts speculate it could contain the remains of K'uk' Bahlam I, the first ruler of the city-state.
Footage of the approximately 1,500-year-old tomb at the Palenque archaeological site showed a series of nine figures depicted in black on a vivid, blood-red background.
Archaeologists say the images from one of the earliest ruler's tombs found at Palenque will shed new light on the early years of the once-great city state.
The National Institute of Anthropology and History said archaeologists have known about the tomb since 1999, but have been unable to enter it because the pyramid above it is unstable and breaking into the chamber could damage the murals.
It said the floor appears to be covered with detritus and it is not immediately evident if the tomb contains recognizable remains. But archaeologist Martha Cuevas said the jade and shell fragments seen on the video are "part of a funerary costume."
The chamber was found in a heavily deteriorated pyramid complex known as the Southern Acropolis, in a jungle-covered area of Palenque not far from the Temple of Inscriptions, where the tomb of a later ruler, Pakal, was found in the 1950s.
While Pakal's tomb featured a famous and heavily carved sarcophagus, no such structure is seen in the footage, taken in April and released on Thursday. The institute said in a statement that "it is very probable that the fragmented bones are lying directly on the stones of the floor."
But Cuevas said the discovery shed new light on early rulers, and its proximity to other burial sites suggested the tomb may be part of a funerary complex.
"This leads us to consider that the Southern Acropolis was used as a royal necropolis," Cuevas said.
The tomb's floor occupies about 5 square meters, with a low, Mayan-arch roof of overlapping stones. Experts say it probably dates to between 431 and 550 AD.
Some experts speculate it could contain the remains of K'uk' Bahlam I, the first ruler of the city-state.
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