Wood?
Textiles?
Exciting!
This tomb is dated between 350 and 400 AD and scientists believe that the Mayan king buried inside it might have been the founder of a dynasty. Houston's team knew that there was a small temple built in the locations of the diggings, a tribute to the sun god and figure of Mayan supremacy, still they were surprised by what they discovered.
“When we sunk a pit into the small chamber of the temple, we hit almost immediately a series of 'caches' -- blood-red bowls containing human fingers and teeth, all wrapped in some kind of organic substance that left an impression in the plaster. We then dug through layer after layer of flat stones, alternating with mud, which probably is what kept the tomb so intact and airtight,” remembers professor Houston.
On May 29, the team had the chance of seeing the Mayan treasures with their own eyes. After the final earthen layer was removed, a cavity was discovered and in the light of a bare light bulb they saw a rainbow of colors as the tomb was covered in paintings, pieces of wood, textiles and many organics Houston had never seen before. “When we opened the tomb,” he said, “I poked my head in and there was still, to my astonishment, a smell of putrification and a chill that went to my bones. The chamber had been so well sealed, for over 1600 years, that no air and little water had entered.”
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