Science: Steps Going Down

In the ruined Mayan city of Palenque, State of Chiapas, Mexico, Mexican Archaeologist Alberto Ruz Luhillier had the thrill that all diggers hope for: he was the first to look into a ceremonial chamber that had been closed and forgotten centuries ago.

The trail to the chamber started on top of the pyramid which supports the Temple of Inscriptions. A flat stone slab was found to have a crack in it, and workmen prying away at the crack discovered a dark flight of steps leading down into the pyramid. Ruz knew at once that he had a chance at an archaeological jackpot; Mayan pyramids are not supposed to have stairways in them.

Working over several dry seasons, Ruz and a gang of laborers slowly cleared away the hard mass of stone and clay that blocked the passageway. The stairs seemed to slant down endlessly. At the 46th step there was a landing from which two galleries, also blocked, led to the sides of the pyramid. They were apparently intended to supply ventilation.

Below the landing were another 13 steps. Then the stairway ended at a solid wall. Behind it was another wall with a stone box set in it, and in the box were a piece of ceramic work, a big pearl, a collection of shells and several pieces of jade. This religious bric-a-brac encouraged Archaeologist Ruz. It hinted that something of importance to long-dead Mayan priests was hidden in the heart of the pyramid.

Great Altar. Behind the wall was a mass of rubble cemented tightly together with lime carried down by percolating rainwater. Behind this was a corridor, at the end of which was a massive stone slab. The workmen pried at its edges, and poked a hole into empty space. Ruz pointed a flashlight into the ancient blackness and saw glistening white stalactites hanging in curtains from the roof. Beyond was a great stone altar covered with the tortured shapes of Mayan hieroglyphs.

When the doorway was cleared, Ruz found that the room measured 26 ft. by 13 ft., with a ceiling 19 ft. high. The stonework was beautifully fitted and some of it was polished like marble. The walls were covered with stucco bas-reliefs of gorgeously costumed priests. Dominating the hidden chamber was the altar, built of two carved stone blocks. On the altar was a “Palenque Cross”: a stone carving of the Mayan tree of life.

Young Skeletons. There was no doubt that this religious decoration and equipment had been connected with human sacrifice. Around the Palenque Cross was a ring of human skulls. Buried under the floor of the entrance were six young skeletons. Ruz cannot tell whether they were boys or girls, or just how they died, but he is reasonably sure that they were killed by the priests when the hidden chamber was closed for the last time.

Archaeologists believe that the sanctuary is older than the pyramid. It lies 82 ft. below the Temple of Inscriptions, and the massive altar blocks could not have been carried down the narrow stairway. The hieroglyphs on the altar are dates. They have not yet been deciphered, but the experts believe that the altar is at least 1,000 years old.

The discovery of the chamber opens an exciting new field. Pyramids in Mexico and Central America were not thought to contain any interior rooms. The Mayans had a custom of covering their pyramids with new shells of earth and stone, and archaeologists believed that religious articles buried in this way went out of use permanently. They had never found a hidden sanctuary reached by a secret stairway.

Now they have something new to look for. In the heart of each great pyramid—and there are many of them—may lie other grisly sanctuaries that have awaited discovery for 1,000 years.