Mexican archeologists have discovered a mysterious canal system under the pyramid containing the tomb of a Mayan ruler in Palenque.
Is it the symbolic gateway to afterlife?
The hydraulic system was found just below the seventh-century tomb of Pakal “The Great” in the Temple of the Inscriptions in Palenque, deep in the jungle of Chiapas, Mexico.
The presence of these canals is very important and very significant.
The complex network of canals, built in the seventh century of our era, is arranged in different levels and orientations. It thus had to be designed long before the pyramid construction.
Due to its proximity to the burial chamber, the complex canal system may symbolically represent the spring and the road leading Pakal to the waters of the underworld. As written on the tomb, to be accepted in the underworld, the dead had to be submerged in the water of a god called Chaac.
Inside the mysterious canal:
El sistema de canales hallado en Palenque, quizá reproduzca el camino de K’nich Janaab’ Pakal a aguas del inframundo pic.twitter.com/lKdrrUvvHf
— Rafael Tovar (@rtovarydeteresa) July 25, 2016
Here a video in Spanish about the new discovery:
Water was still running through the main canal when the gateway to afterlife was discovered, suggesting that its source is a natural spring. However, archeologists have been unable to determine the length of the tunnel or where it begins.
DESCUBREN SISTEMA DE CANALES BAJO EL TEMPLO DE LAS INSCRIPCIONES DE PALENQUE
