Micro-camera Provides First Peek Inside Mayan Tomb
Stephanie Pappas, LiveScience Senior Writer
Chamber of SecretsCredit: National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH)A stepped ceiling and the thick slab gateway of the burial chamber.
A Mayan tomb closed to the world for 1,500 years has finally revealed some of its secrets as scientists snaked a tiny camera into a red-and-black painted burial chamber.
The room, decorated with paintings of nine figures, also contains pottery, jade pieces and shell, archaeologists from Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) reported Thursday (June 23).
Temple XXCredit: National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH)Temple XX in the ancient Mayan city of Palenque. Under the temple is a 1,500-year-old burial chamber, unreachable except by micro-camera.
The tomb is located in Palenque, an expansive set of stone ruins in the Mexican state of Chiapas. According to the INAH, the tomb was discovered in 1999 under a building called Temple XX. But the stonework and location prevented exploration. [See the images taken in the tomb]
By threading a tiny video camera through a 6-inch by 6-inch (15 cm by 15 cm) hole above the tomb, researchers were able to glimpse for the first time the contents of the burial chamber. The room contains a sarcophagus and pottery dishes, which may have once held funerary offerings. The contents of the chamber suggest that the tomb is the resting place of a dignitary who ruled in Palenque sometime between A.D. 431 and A.D. 550.
Upper TempleCredit: National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH)To get to the hidden tomb, researchers had to descend from the top of the temple.
Descending into Temple XXCredit: National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH)A ladder leads into Temple XX, from which archaeologists threaded a video camera into the burial chamber.
Exploration of another Palenque tomb from the same time period suggests that the area was a royal necropolis, INAH archaeologists said. Later, Temple XX was built over the site, covering the vaulted chamber tomb with a step pyramid structure.
Hole in the TempleCredit: National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH)A 6-inch (15 cm) by 6-inch hole leads to the unexplored burial chamber.
Mayan MuralCredit: National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH)A mural decorating the walls of the 1,500-year-old burial chamber consists of nine characters outlined in black on red.
LiveScience.com
Chamber of SecretsCredit: National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH)A stepped ceiling and the thick slab gateway of the burial chamber.
A Mayan tomb closed to the world for 1,500 years has finally revealed some of its secrets as scientists snaked a tiny camera into a red-and-black painted burial chamber.
The room, decorated with paintings of nine figures, also contains pottery, jade pieces and shell, archaeologists from Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) reported Thursday (June 23).
Temple XXCredit: National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH)Temple XX in the ancient Mayan city of Palenque. Under the temple is a 1,500-year-old burial chamber, unreachable except by micro-camera.
The tomb is located in Palenque, an expansive set of stone ruins in the Mexican state of Chiapas. According to the INAH, the tomb was discovered in 1999 under a building called Temple XX. But the stonework and location prevented exploration. [See the images taken in the tomb]
By threading a tiny video camera through a 6-inch by 6-inch (15 cm by 15 cm) hole above the tomb, researchers were able to glimpse for the first time the contents of the burial chamber. The room contains a sarcophagus and pottery dishes, which may have once held funerary offerings. The contents of the chamber suggest that the tomb is the resting place of a dignitary who ruled in Palenque sometime between A.D. 431 and A.D. 550.
Upper TempleCredit: National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH)To get to the hidden tomb, researchers had to descend from the top of the temple.
Descending into Temple XXCredit: National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH)A ladder leads into Temple XX, from which archaeologists threaded a video camera into the burial chamber.
Exploration of another Palenque tomb from the same time period suggests that the area was a royal necropolis, INAH archaeologists said. Later, Temple XX was built over the site, covering the vaulted chamber tomb with a step pyramid structure.
Hole in the TempleCredit: National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH)A 6-inch (15 cm) by 6-inch hole leads to the unexplored burial chamber.
Mayan MuralCredit: National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH)A mural decorating the walls of the 1,500-year-old burial chamber consists of nine characters outlined in black on red.
LiveScience.com
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