• Oldest and largest ancient Maya structure found in Mexico

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Scientists using an aerial remote-sensing method have discovered the largest and oldest-known structure built by the ancient Maya civilization - a colossal rectangular elevated platform built between 1,000 and 800 BC in Mexico’s Tabasco state.

The structure, unlike the soaring Maya pyramids at cities like Tikal in Guatemala and Palenque in Mexico erected some 1,500 years later, was not built of stone but rather of clay and earth, and likely was used for mass rituals, researchers said on Wednesday.

Located at a site called Aguada Fenix near the Guatemalan border, the structure measured nearly a quarter mile (400 meters) wide and nine-tenths of a mile (1,400 meters) long and stood 33 to 50 feet (10 to 15 meters) high. In total volume, it exceeded ancient Egypt’s Great Pyramid of Giza built 1,500 years earlier.

There were no signs of sculptures depicting high-status individuals, suggesting Maya culture at this early stage was more communal and only later developed social inequality and a hierarchical society led by royalty, the researchers said.

“Because it is so large horizontally, if you walk on it, it just looks like natural landscape,” said University of Arizona archaeologist Takeshi Inomata, who led the research published in the journal Nature. “But its form comes out nicely in lidar.”

Lidar, short for Light Detection and Ranging, is a remote-sensing technique that employs a pulsed laser and other data obtained flying over a site to generate three-dimensional information about the shape of surface characteristics.

Nine large causeways and a series of reservoirs were linked to the structure. Some parts of the rural Aguada Fenix site today are covered with cattle ranches. Other parts are wooded.

“It is probable that many people from surrounding areas gathered for special occasions, possibly tied to calendrical cycles,” Inomata said. “The rituals probably involved processions along the causeways and within the rectangular plaza. The people also deposited symbolic objects such as jade axes in the center of the plateau.”

Maya ruins of Ek' Balam pack much to see in a small footprint

The Maya ruins of Ek' Balam in Yucatán. INAH

Situated 27 kilometers from Valladolid, Yucatán, off Highway 295, the archaeological zone of Ek’ Balam has one of the largest ancient Maya structures in Mesoamerica, the area from central Mexico to northern Costa Rica. Hidden in the jungles, the site is near several cenotes and close to the famous Maya city of Chichén Itzá.

The site was mentioned in the Spanish document “Relación de Ek’ Balam” in 1579 by Juan Gutiérrez Picón, although archaeological explorations only commenced in the late 20th century. The name is Yucatec Mayan for dark jaguar or black jaguar as well as bright star jaguar.

The site is widely thought to be named after the founding ruler, Ek’ Balam, or Coch Cal Balam, who supposedly ruled for 40 years, but the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) says evidence of such a king has not been discovered. Archaeologists have identified five rulers so far from the glyphs found onsite.

Ek’ Balam, identified as the capital of the Talol kingdom, was occupied from around 300 B.C. and then peaked in development during A.D. 600–900. It was abandoned in the 16th century. During its peak, the settlement reached around 12 square kilometers, although the walled area is only about one square kilometer. Hence it is a relatively small archaeological zone.

The site has 45 structures, three walls, and five “white roads” — ancient gravel roads with a white surface — as well as tall, sculpted stone stelae and other monuments. Archaeologists have noted overlapping construction stages and different architectural styles here.

This archway is the main entrance to the site.

Two walls surround the main area, and the third connects the key buildings. The walls are thought to have symbolically barred access to certain sections of the site, since at an estimated height of around 1 1/2 meters, they are too low to serve as defense. Still, a defensive purpose is also considered a possibility.

We entered the site from one of the white roads on the south. At the entrance is a beautiful arch-like structure with a ramp, considered the main entrance to the walled section of the site.

East of the entrance is the South Plaza. An interesting structure here is a round building on a rectangular base called the Oval Palace, considered an elite residence as well as a ceremonial building. There are several rooms on two floors and a temple on top.

Archaeologists discovered burials and offerings here. The views of the main pyramid and the site from the top of the palace are stunning.

West of the plaza is a structure called the Twins — two identical buildings with separate stairways on a rectangular platform — measuring 40 meters in length, 17 meters in width, and around six meters in height. Two stucco masks were discovered here. No exact purpose for these buildings has been identified, although there has been some speculation they were temples.

East of the plaza is a large structure on a rectangular base with multiple buildings and a temple, also worth seeing. A must-see in this section, however, is the stela from A.D. 840 depicting Ek’ Balam’s rulers.

The Acrópolis. The covered areas are rooms.

The South Plaza has the third wall connecting the main buildings, considered possibly ceremonial in purpose. It also restricts access to the central area. The North Plaza has the largest and the oldest buildings of the site.

Perhaps the most significant building of Ek’ Balam is the Acrópolis or the royal palace — a six-level pyramid building measuring 160 meters in length, around 68 meters in width and 32 meters in height. This pyramid has two wings, to the east and west, separated by a large stairway, and there are several structures and passages within the compound.

You can climb to the top of this building, where the panoramic views from the summit are breathtaking. On either side of the main stairways are beautiful serpent-head sculptures with extended tongues and Maya hieroglyphs referred to as the Hieroglyphic Serpents.

An absolute must-see, however, is the fourth-level room whose name Sak Xok Naah means the white house of reading. It houses the tomb of the first known king, Ukit Kan Le’t Tok, or the father of the four flint fronts. He has also been identified as the builder of the Acrópolis pyramid.

Archaeologists found several thousand pieces of funeral offerings here. Although the room is cordoned off to visitors, you will not tire of observing from the outside the extremely well-preserved sculptures and designs of different characters, including angels.

The most notable sculpture, perhaps, is the magnificent stucco piece representing the Earth Monster with its open jaws, which sits by the room’s entrance.

Known as “the white house of reading,” this room houses the tomb of Ukit Kan Le’t Tok, one of Ek’ Balam’s most important rulers.

There are additional structures to see on the Acrópolis pyramid, which is also the site where the ancient text Mural of the 96 Glyphs was discovered.

East and west of the North Plaza are two large still-to-be excavated buildings. The Maya ball court southwest of the North Plaza is also worth seeing.

For a refreshing swim after exploring the entire site, the cenote X’Canché, in the jungle around 1 1/2 kilometers from the ruins, is ideal. X’Canché is around 15 meters below ground level, with a diameter of around 50 meters.

You can also engage in adventure sports here, such as zip-lining and rappelling. The tranquil surroundings and the rest area with palapas — umbrella-like manmade structures with palm-leaf thatch roofs and open sides — is a relaxing experience, especially in the hot climate of Yucatán.

Illegal building threatens Mexico’s Teotihuacan ancient sites

Property owner operating with ‘total impunity’ in area where building is forbidden, zone’s head says.

Just beyond the towering pyramids of what was once the largest city of the Americas, an illegal building project threatens to cause irreparable harm to the remains of temples and some two dozen other ancient structures.

The owner of the land, where construction is strictly prohibited, has ignored legal orders from Mexico’s antiquities institute INAH to stop building during the past two months, sparking outrage that authorities are failing to protect the ruins of Teotihuacan, one of Mexico’s top tourist draws.

Reuters was unable to locate or question the owner, whose name has not been disclosed.

Rogelio Rivero Chong, director of Teotihuacan’s archaeological zone, said in an interview the police’s failure to intervene showed the property owner’s “total impunity”.

The ancient ruins of Teotihuacan are the remains of a powerful and influential metropolis settled as early as 400 BC [File: Henry Romero/Reuters]

In late April, INAH filed a criminal complaint against the owner with federal prosecutors alleging “damage to archeological patrimony”. This week the institute documented continuing heavy construction by some 60 workers at the site, based on statements from Mexico’s culture ministry.

The prosecutors’ office where the complaint was filed did not respond to Reuters’ questions about the status of that complaint.

Teotihuacan, about 30 miles (50km) northeast of Mexico City, once boasted a population of at least 100,000 people who mostly lived in stone multi-family apartment compounds, many of which were elaborately decorated with colourful murals.

The multi-ethnic city was a contemporary of classic-era Maya urban centres, but known for its own distinctive art and architecture. It grew rich from 100 BC to 550 AD, thanks to extensive trade networks and a thriving craft-based economy that produced goods including ceramics, garments and especially razor-sharp obsidian blades.

Rivero Chong said authorities have for years struggled to stop illegal building, often carried out at night or on the weekends. Local government investigators often arrive too late to verify damage, he said.

The ancient Teotihuacan pyramids are just part of the large metropolis in San Juan Teotihuacan, Mexico. Much of the historic city is still being excavated [ File: Toya Sarno Jordan/Reuters]

A tall cinder block wall surrounds the illegal construction, located on two plots in an area known as Oztoyahualco that is believed to be one of the ancient city’s oldest districts.

A past archaeological survey indicates a ceremonial complex was there with at least three temples and some 25 separate structures.

Teotihuacan was declared a world heritage site by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in 1987, a designation that requires continuing government protection of the site, noted Rivero Chong.

A number of leading scholars have also pleaded with the government to take action in recent days.

“For me, this really hurts,” said Linda Manzanilla, a veteran Teotihuacan archaeologist with Mexico’s National Autonomous University, referring to the latest unlawful construction.

During one of her excavations at Teotihuacan in the 1980s, she unearthed a residential complex in Oztoyahualco where stucco workers once lived, next to a major obsidian workshop, not far from the three temples currently threatened.

She said the latest illegal construction is in an area just west of the Moon Pyramid, where other nearby excavations have revealed elaborately decorated structures built around plazas in a densely developed part of the ancient metropolis.

“It’s very likely that there are very large complexes there,” she said.