A Brown University expedition has penetrated a Mayan pyramid in a remote jungle in Guatemala and uncovered the sealed tomb of a ruler dating to 1,600 years ago.
That was the word Monday from the university and from Stephen Houston, an archaeologist who is in charge of the operation and who spoke from a tent camp that houses members of the expedition.
The significance is epic, Houston said: “It’s a great, great rarity.”
He recounted that when the excavators finally opened a hole wide enough to see through, he stuck his head inside the tomb and found himself “euphoric” over what lay inside.
“It was a complete King Tut moment,” he related.
The tomb of the pharaoh Tutankhamen, discovered in 1922, is perhaps the most famous in the annals of archaeology and is still the most complete burial of an Egyptian ruler found so far.
“Once we opened an area of about 30 to 40 inches, it became clear that the surface was covered with human bone, pieces of jade, textiles,” Houston said of the Mayan site.
There was more than that. There were also the bones of six children and possibly those of an adult male who rested on a raised bier that had collapsed during the passing centuries.
Ceramic pots within the tomb, which measures 6 feet high, 12 feet long and 4 feet wide, contain residues, perhaps of foodstuffs, Houston said.
“There seemed to be a vessel with an alcoholic substance that exploded and left a strange, chalky material around,” he said. The 1,600-year-old textiles still retain color. “You can see the weaving.”
The El Diablo pyramid is one of the largest in Central America, Houston said, and was part of a religious complex in the Mayan city of El Zotz.
He estimated that the site had been inhabited over a period of 2,000 years, if not longer.
Houston, who in 2008 was the recipient of a MacArthur Foundation “genius” award of $500,000 with no strings attached, described the scene.
“The pyramid is on a very high bluff, several hundred feet above a valley below. Imagine what this thing would have looked like, painted bright red, seen from great distances. From the top, we can see the great city of Tikal in the distance, so this was a completely dominant position. Usually, Mayan buildings are not like ours. They encase them layer after layer. So you have got to tunnel to get in there. We have specialist excavators who come in and are able to safely pierce the core.
“The pyramid is covered with these gorgeous stucco sculptures. They show aspects of the sun god. For the Maya, the sun god is the principal symbol of Mayan kings.”
He said in the interview and in a news release that the excavators suspected they were probing a significant site, because as they scraped through alternating layers of mud and stone they found “caches” — bowls containing human fingers and teeth.
The actual discovery of the tomb came May 29 when Houston and a worker uncovered the last layer, and Houston said he stuck a small stick in. It showed a hollow cavity. They widened the hole and lowered a light bulb. Color flashed at them from all directions.
Houston said he could see that entry through the ceiling might have caused a disaster, for all of the floor surface was covered with artifacts. It took a week to sink an adjacent shaft and to open an inspection hole.
To his surprise, “As I poked my head in through the wall, there was a morgue-like chill. It was extremely well insulated, unlike the hot conditions outside the pyramid. There was also the faint small of rotting, not at all pleasant.”
Houston said that excavators spent the next few days reaching in and removing artifacts to allow entry. The honor of the first entry went not to Houston, but to graduate student, Sara Newman.
“She’s a lot more svelte,” he explained.
As for the emotional experience of the moment, “One begins with euphoria that quickly changes to great concern, because the deposits require specialty treatment,” Houston said.
He quickly arranged for a specialty conservator, Catherine Magee of Washington, D.C., who flew there, but had to contend with volcanic eruptions in Guatemala that forced her to travel via Belize.
“She helped us preserve the deposits,” he said. “It would have been impossible without her.”
Houston described access to the site as “physically difficult.”
He said it is necessary to travel about 15 miles from the nearest village “over an appalling road. The road, I can say without doubt, is the worst road I’ve ever been on. There are makeshift bridges that sometimes wash out. It is quite bone-shattering.”
Houston said it will take years of study to draw out all of the information contained in the artifacts, which he expects one day will be put on display.
Houston said he expects to return to the pyramid.
“Most Mayan sites have lots of fascinating features, so I’m sure if I go back to work there, there will be more to be found.”
Author: Thomas J. Morgan | Source: Projo.com [July 19, 2010]
