Discovery Of Largest Tomb In Belize Proves Xunantunich More Legendary Than Credited.

Discovery of Largest Tomb in Belize proves Xunantunich more legendary than credited.

 

Among the excitement of having found the largest tomb ever in the country of Belize at the Xunantunich Maya Ruins, there is now the electrifying race to uncover the identity and story of the ruler buried therein for centuries.

This recent archaeological discovery proves that Belize has such untapped potential in tourism and archaeological studies. Among the many items found buried in this tomb with their ruler, are 4 obsidian blades (as Dr. Awe explains, normally they have found 5 blades in other tombs), a series of pots and vases, Jade beads, and the remains of what has been speculated to be either a Jaguar or a deer.

The tomb appears to be 5 to 8 meters deep. It is the first tomb ever to be found at the Xunantunich archaeological site and certainly the largest tomb to be found in Belize.  The ruler buried in this tomb can be identified to be a male between the age of 20 to 30 years. Hopes of discovering his true identity and story, however; lie in a second panel found at the foot of the mound built to conceal his tomb.

Entry into the largest tomb found in Belize at Xunantunich

Entry into the largest tomb found in Belize at Xunantunich

As Dr. Awe states, “What’s amazing about the discover of this tomb is that we know that archaeologists have been working at Xunantunich since the 1890’s, right, that’s more than a century of continuous archaeological work at the site and never before had we ever found a tomb. Well, this tomb is also remarkable in other ways, it is one of the largest burial chambers we have ever found”

Entry into the largest tomb found in Belize at Xunantunich

The second panel found at the foot of the temple may be able to tell us the identity and the story of the Mayan Ruler buried in this tomb.

These are exciting times for archaeologists in Belize as they realize what untapped potential Belize holds further below the tip of this iceberg.