Digging the road, discovered the thousand-year-old palace of the Maya god of death

(NLDO) - The construction project of Mexico's Tren Maya inter-provincial railway suddenly encountered "death".

Archaeologists from Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) say they have unearthed a palace complex linked to the ancient Mayan city of Balamkú.

Mayan palace recently discovered in Mexico - Photo: INAH

According to Heritage Daily, it was a chance discovery at the construction site of the Calakmul station, part of Line 7 of the Tren Maya, a 1,554-km intercity train line that crosses the Yucatán Peninsula and connects many famous Mayan sites.

The construction site of Calakmul station is located only 3.5km from the Balamkú Archaeological Site.

Balamkú covers an area of ​​up to 25 hectares and is distributed over 3 areas, with pyramids, ball courts, squares and many other architectural works that have not yet been fully explored .

The ancient city was inhabited from around 300 BC, during the Late Preclassic period, until the Late Classic period, between 800 and 1000 AD.

The newly excavated palace is believed to be related to this Balamkú, so it must be at least a thousand years old.

The palace sits on a rectangular stone platform with rounded corners, on which is a courtyard arranged with five limestone structures.

Archaeologists also discovered a limestone sculpture depicting Ah Puch, the Mayan god of death and earthquakes, suggesting the palace may have been built to honor this god.

The bizarre statue of Ah Puch with a deformed skull and a large penis was discovered in a circular structure at the center of the complex, where several funerary offerings were found, along with a pair of ceramic bowls.

Human remains also appeared at the temple, for unknown reasons, but possibly victims of sacrifice.

To preserve the palace complex, INAH archaeologists meticulously dismantled the structures and relocated them nearby, where they are all displayed as an interactive museum.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/dao-duong-phat-hien-cung-dien-ngan-nam-cua-than-chet-maya-196240828105355406.htm