Mexican archeologists have announced the discovery of an ancient water canal system beneath one of Mexico’s most important Mayan temples.
Arnaldo Cruz, Excavation Project Director, said on Tuesday in Mexico City that the discovery of the nine 17 metres long canals beneath the 675 AD Temple of the Inscriptions in Palenque revealed “complex hydraulic engineering.”
He said that the spring-fed hydraulic system was intended to link King K’inich Janaahb’ Pakal, who once ruled Palenque, to the Mayan water deity Chaac.
Cruz said that a new analysis of hieroglyphics from the temple showed they might refer to the spring and a symbolic path to the waters of the underworld, represented by the canals.
Pedro Nava, Coordinator of Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History, said that site, located in the southern Mexican state of Chiapas, in the ancient city of Palenque, was one of the most important Mayan archeological sites.
“The settlement reached its zenith between 500-700 AD.
“Hieroglyphics in the Temple of the Inscriptions recount the city’s dynastic history.
“Pakal’s crypt was discovered in 1952 but the hieroglyphics have still not been completely deciphered,’’ Nava said.
The coordinator said that archeologists began analysing the site with ground-penetrating radar in 2012, initially thinking the canals were geological faults.
He said that the archeologists decided to study the information and discovered that it was about complex hydraulic canals excavated directly on the rock, just below Pakal’s funerary chamber.