World

History: Mayan tomb found by border of Guatemala and Mexico

Tuesday, July 31, 2012

"Recent excavations have turned up some remarkable finds in the ancient Maya city of Uxul, buried deep within the jungle near the border between Mexico and Guatemala. After unearthing two giant manmade reservoirs in 2010, archaeologists have now discovered what appears to be the final resting place of a Mayan prince.

Located near the Guatemalan border in present-day Campeche, Mexico, the city of Uxul served as one of the Maya empire’s trading hubs during the Classic period from 250 to 900 A.D. It was discovered in 1934 by archaeologists Karl Ruppert and John Denison, who named the site after the Mayan term for “at the end” because of its remote location in the Yucatan jungle. Experts believe the settlement came under the control of nearby Calakmul, a larger and more powerful city, around 630 A.D. By the ninth century Uxul had lost nearly all its inhabitants.

Researchers from the University of Bonn and Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History have been excavating at Uxul for four years. In 2010 they unearthed two enormous artificial lakes lined with ceramic shared and thought to have supplied the city’s population with drinking water during the dry season. In 2011 they began work on Uxul’s royal palace, uncovering multiple buildings as well as relief panels depicting kings from Calakmul. “The palace complex was built around 650 A.D., a time when the neighboring ruling dynasty from Calakmul was extending its influence over large areas of the Maya lowlands,” project leader Nikolai Grube explained in a statement issued today by the University of Bonn."

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Tomb of Ancient Mayan Prince Discovered in Mexico (History.Com 7/30)