MEXICO:Mexican archaeologists have discovered a maze of stone temples in underground caves, some submerged in water and containing human bones, which ancient Mayans believed was a portal where dead souls entered the underworld.
Clad in scuba gear and edging through narrow tunnels, researchers discovered the stone ruins of 11 sacred temples and what could be the remains of human sacrifices at the site in the village of Tahtzibichen in Merida, in the Yucatan Peninsula.
Archaeologists say Mayans believed the underground complex of water-filled caves leading into dry chambers - including an underground road stretching some 100m (330ft) - was the path to a mythical underworld, known as Xibalba.
Guillermo de Anda, one of the lead investigators at the site, said that according to an ancient Mayan scripture, the Popol Vuh, the path was filled with obstacles including rivers filled with scorpions, blood and pus and houses shrouded in darkness or swarming with shrieking bats. The souls of the dead followed a mythical dog who could see at night, he said.
Excavations over the past five months in the Yucatan caves revealed stone carvings and ceramic offerings along with bones in some temples.
"They believed that this place was the entrance to Xibalba. That is why we have found the offerings there," Mr de Anda said.
"It is very likely this area was protected as a sacred depository for the dead or for the passage of their souls."
The Mayans built soaring pyramids and elaborate palaces in central America and Mexico before mysteriously abandoning their cities about AD 900.
In the Yucatan site, they have found one 1,900-year-old ceramic vase, but most of the artifacts date back to AD 700-850.
Different Mayan groups who inhabited southern Mexico and northern Guatemala and Belize had their own entrances to the underworld which archaeologists have discovered at other sites, almost always in cave systems buried deep in the jungle.
"These sacred tunnels and caves were natural temples and annexes to temples on the surface," Mr de Anda said.
- (Reuters)