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Much of the legacy and wealth of the ancient Maya city of Xunantunich in Belize was dispersed by a British medical officer who excavated (some would say looted) it in the 19th century, but last week archaeologists discovered a large tomb, possibly of a royal person.
This is the first tomb discovered at Xunantunich. It contains the skeleton of a person to whom reverence apparently was shown in the tomb’s construction, writes The Reporter newspaper of Belize. In the tomb, archaeologists found ceramics, jade stones and the bones of an animal, which they say may have been a jaguar or deer based on its long femurs.
Experts examined the human skeleton’s femurs and the appearance of the skull and teeth to determine he was a man around age 20 to 30.
Archaeologist Jaime Awe is on the team conducting the excavations and told The Reporter:
‘What’s amazing about the discovery of this tomb is that, we know that archaeologists have been working at Xunantunich since the 1890s. That’s more than a century of continuous archaeological work at the site. And, never before have we found a tomb. Well, this tomb is also remarkable in other ways, it is one of the largest burial chambers we have ever found.’
The team has to fully excavate the tomb, but preliminary investigation shows it measures between 5 and 8 meters (16.4 to 26.25 feet) deep.
Local legends say a mysterious woman appeared in the late 1800s to a man of the nearby village of San Jose Succotz and then disappeared into a wall at El Castillo, a towering ancient building. Xunantunich, a modern name, means Stone Woman. She has reportedly appeared to others at El Castillo.
