A quick note: the computers are very slow and I'm very busy. I have not had a time to spell check or proof most of these postings, so I'm just getting as much stuff down as possible.
Got a feaver last night and slept in. Slept in, but felt well so i decided to ride out to the ruins, at 40km each way it was the biggest day trip yet and did prove to be exhusting.
I will not give the name of these ruins or there exact location. There is a fear of looting, and indeed this this site is at risk, and fresh holes suggest it is in fact being looted now. I dont know who looters are. I know in some cases it is local people. A single dish or bowl from the ruins is basically equivelient to a lifetime of work, so the risk is justified. I hear Ameriacans and Europians also travel here to pick sites to have looted. Not to sure about this, but makes sense because the trafficing of these goods, big buisiness, must be carfully planned, likly more so than trafficing drugs. A few years ago an entire stucco facade from a building near the Guatamala boarder arrived in New York City, at least 30x12ft if not much bigger. While trying to sell it, an acidemic contacted the athorities and it is now on display in Mexico city. I will be passing next to, but not through the village where came from. A researcher while asking about ruins in the area was baically tolded that there are nice people in the town, but that there were no ruins and if he did not move on he would regret it ( i think they flashed guns). He did move on, but knowing that of course there were ruins. Not to worry. I have names of guides who will take me to sites i want to see in the area. I have no need to meddle with such things as getting threatened.
These ruins have been known about for some time now, but recent reports state that they were just discovered, its strange, because actually new ruins never actually make it into the papers, not sure why. Lately Ive read a few reports on 'new ruins' and they all, including this one were originally published over 20 years ago. Anyway these ruins are very intersting because they seem to have at least early and late classic construction. The late classic construction is of the Rio Bec-Chenes style (like most the structures at Ek Balam, especially the mostermask building. I have seen a single photo from this site showing a Chenes-Rio Bec structure with much sculpture unlike any other structure I have seen. Like Ek Balam, it was far from the traditional geographic areas typcially associated with these styles. I was most interested to examine the masonry and get some more photos, as this was clearly an important structure.
A small amount of work has been done at the site. 20 stellas (carved stone monuments), 10 of which are carved have been found, some used in the stair case suggesting that the site was attacked and a new dynasty wanted to erase anyh marks of the old linages. Typically the stellas are smashed an buried in the rubble fill of a pyrimid, but to use them as steps is a great idea, and unique to my knowlage. The recent work also found ceramics from Edzna, a huge site to the west that i will visit, and from northern Guatamala, so it is though that this site was really in the thick of things.
The masonry is facinating, and somewhat different from Ek Balam. I really cannot draw any conclusions until I have visited the ruins of the Chenes and Rio Bec regions. It is certain that the masonry is similar to some, but not all of the buildings of this style.
The site is indeed large, and the recent work has cleared nearly all the brush out, so walking around and taking pictures was very easy. There are many platforms and many pyrimids. Platforms and pyrimids are not typical of the Chenes-Rio Bec style. All of these sites that have these features are known to have preclassic and early classic architecture (400BC-250AD), so almost certainly this site too has early structures buried, and it would be very interesting to know what that is.
This is the only photo i have ever seen of the ruins, the back of the main structure. The upper facade has increadible sworling designs in a deep relief. Very very nice.
A standing section from the front facade at an angle showing the depth of the design. Upper facades like this are generally rare. The construction of this is exceptional in its quality. In every case of standing upper facades, the design is boardered top and bottom by a protruding boarder (called a cornice). The cornice protected the design from rain on top, and the wall below. Notice here how there is no such thing. The wall below is flush with the design above in between the sworels making a very dramatic effect.
Although fallen, the upper facade was almost certainly boarder at the corners with masks with protruding noses typical of the Puuc style and can been seen at Chitzen Itza. This is one such nose I found in the tumble on the side of the pyrimid. I have never seen on like this, and appears by style to be very early. while the noses of later structures turned up (like seen in the photo here), this nose based on the carving would have turned down, also a feature of early such masks.
Up at the top the building has seen no attempt to preserve the standing masonry. At any site that has had nearly any work, new morter is added to prevend water from further eating out the ancient morter. While this is clearly a good idea, it obscures the stonework. Not here. The stones are just sitting there in origianal form. The way the stones were stacked, the shape of the stones, and the stones inside the walls are clearly visable. Most the sites I will see have have to compare my photos with early photos to see things I may have missed or that are not obvious. While trying to get to get a better view of the masonry on the back of the structure (a narrow 12" walk way between the rear wall and the drop down the side of the pyrimid) I came acrossed a big nest of black hornets and was rapidly swarmed. Not sure how many stings i got, but they sure hurt for a long time, and i'm very glad i'm not allergic to them.
Another very intersting standing structure here, also of the Chenes-Rio Bec style. While mostly collapsed this building has a door that passes up to the roof of the building.
I have never seen anything like this. It is a niche on the side of one of the many large platforms, probably a second exists and they flank a staircase (both Ek Balam and Coba and many others have rooms on each side of the staircases of their large pyrimids). This is probably a miniature based on that style.
Tommorow I head northwest to towards the Puuc region, which I many or many not see a few sites, and then south to the Chenes region.
Distant traveled: 80km
Trip Total:577km
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