Hidden Passage Discovered Underneath Mayan 'snake god' Chichén Itzá

[Skywizard]

• Experts used advanced imaging techniques to create a 3D map of the temple
• They revealed an access tunnel that remained hidden for over a millennia
• Researchers hope the secret passageway will reveal the 'sacred geography' of the site along with new details about the Mayans ancient beliefs

An ancient Mayan pyramid that has fascinated explorers since its discovery by Spanish conquistadors in the 1500s continues to reveal its secrets.

Experts have discovered a secret passageway that they believe leads to an underground water-filled cave, or cenote, at the Temple of Kukulkan in Mexico's Chichen Itza.

There are stories of the Mayans sacrificing people into cenotes with a previous expedition finding human remains in the watery sinkhole.

Researchers hope the blocked-off secret passageway will reveal the 'sacred geography' of the site along with new details about the Mayans ancient beliefs.

The ancient Mayan temple of Kukulkan continues to reveal its secrets a
millennia after it was constructed. Researchers used ground penetrating
lidar (foreground) to reveal an underground cavern beneath the city's
central pyramid (background)

Researchers from the Great Mayan Aquifer Project, led by underwater archaeologist Guillermo de Anda, made the discovery using advanced imaging techniques.

They used ground penetrating lidar, a form of radar, to send electromagnetic signals through the walls and other architectural elements of the pyramid and its surroundings, to map the underground of the temple's main structures.

So far they they know the tunnel exists, but they are now hoping to find an entrance to the passage and hope to explore it physically.

The passage was found through a smaller burial chamber, known as the Ossuary, although it is currently blocked off.

Speaking to El Universal, Dr de Anda said: 'Through the Ossuary, we can enter the cave beneath the structure and there we found a blocked passageway, probably closed off by the ancient Mayans themselves.

Lidar, a form of radar, was used to send electromagnetic signals through the
walls and other architectural elements of the pyramid and its surroundings,
to map the underground of the temple's main structures

'We will enter again and this time we will try to open it to see if the passageway leads us to the entrance of the cenote beneath the pyramid.'

Researchers discovered an enormous sinkhole beneath the 1,000-year-old Temple in 2015.

They fear the body of water in the cenote, which has a river running through it, may eventually cause the entire pyramid to collapse if its roof gives way.

It is believed the Mayans may have built the Temple of Kukulkan around 900 to 1,100 years ago on top of the cavern as part of their religious beliefs.

The famous Temple of Kukulcan, also referred to as the Kukulcan pyramid or El Castillo, dominates the archaeological site of Chichen Itza in the Yucatan state of Mexico.

The step-pyramid was built by the Mayan civilisation and served as a temple to the feathered serpent god Kukulcan.

Archaeologists have known that a smaller pyramid is encapsulated underneath the visible temple since the 1930s.

A discovery in 2016 revealed an even smaller structure inside the outer two layers - with experts noting the structure's similarity to a set of nesting dolls.

The multi-layered pyramid is thought to have been built in three stages.

Kukulkan is a Mayan snake deity, or a feathered serpent, who grew up inside a cave before emerging in an earthquake.

The cenote is thought to be connected to other sinkhole lakes that surround the pyramid to the north, west and east, by underground rivers.

The sinkhole beneath the temple is around 82 feet (25 metres) by 114 feet (35 metres) and up to 65 feet deep (20 metres).

The team has been exploring the underground labyrinth inside the temple
for around six months. This image shows Dr de Anda crawling through a
narrow space beneath the surface

There is a layer of limestone about 16ft (5 metres) thick at the top of the cenote, which the pyramid is currently sitting on.

The cenotes that surround the pyramid could represent the four points of the compass, researchers claim.

The river at the centre might represent the centre of the Maya's universe, which they thought of as a tree with roots reaching below ground.

This isn't the only mystery inside the temple.

In 2016, archaeologists uncovered a second structure within the famous pyramid.

Researchers discovered the new structure using a non-invasive technique in order to avoid damaging the pyramid.

A process called tri-dimensional electric resistivity tomography', or 'ERT-3D' was used.

Reserachers hope to create a 3D map that confirms the 'sacred geography'
which is thought to have guided the Mayans in the design of the city. This
image shows another nearby pyramid

This involved scanning the pyramid using a series of electrodes placed around the site.

These sent electrical currents that were used to measure resistance in electrical current flow in order to digitally map any existing structures.

Experts have long known that a smaller pyramid is encapsulated underneath the visible temple.

The new study detected an even smaller structure inside the outer two layers.

The researchers used a technique known as an electrical resistance
survey to measure the ground beneath the Temple of Kukulkan. They
found a large 65 feet deep cavern beneath the pyramid which has
water running through it, as shown in the graphic above

Source: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencete...an-temple.html


...peace

[Cardillac]

finding hidden chambers in pyramids seems to be an on-going thing at the moment- check out the latest info from Dr. Joseph P. Farrell:

https://gizadeathstar.com/2017/11/ne...amid-detected/

Larry