Oldest Mayan Mural Discovered

Wall of Mayan 'Sistine Chapel' unveiled

GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - Buried in a tunnel deep in Guatemala's northern jungle, archeologists have uncovered the final and most elaborate wall of a 2,000-year-old Mayan mural, likened to the Vatican's Sistine Chapel by its finder.

Archeologist William Saturno, of the University of New Hampshire, first discovered the sacred mural in the ruins of the city of San Bartolo in 2001 and this year excavated the "crown jewel" of the painting.

The wall proves that the ancient Maya, known for their prowess in astronomy and mathematics, employed the same royal coronation rites for some 800 years.

and further into the article

Nearby, archaeologists led by Guatemalan Monica Pellecer Alecio found the oldest known Maya royal burial, from around 150 B.C. Excavating beneath a small pyramid, that team found a burial complex that included ceramic vessels and the bones of a man, with a jade plaque — the symbol of Maya royalty — on his chest.

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Oldest Mayan Mural Uncovered in Guatemala



This is absolutely gorgeous, I wish there were more pictures showing what the mural depicted. This mural which allegedly depicts the Mayan creation story could shed some light on some of the Mayan prophecies we're familiar with. Looking forward to reading more about this new discovery.

[edit on 12-13-2005 by worldwatcher]

More on the mural, it seems it was discovered in 2002, but the finding was kept secret by the archeologists to protect it from looters until it could be properly documented and most likely dated for age.

This article from 2002, shows the remote location and another shot of the mural, however not as beautiful or in great detail like the pic above.
www.news.harvard.edu...

It almost seems like in the 2002 version, they went out of their way to make it look boring.

Wow! That looks amazing! So colourfull!

Great find!

I'm glad they got to properly document it before too many looters could, or will get to it. Makes sense that they kept it a bit secretive, but its a shame they had to keep the rest of us in the dark because of a few looters