Moist Mayan Marvels: Sacred Site Sits Below Lake Surface

To safeguard a newly discovered archaeological trove from pillaging, the precise location is being kept under wraps even as it sits under water. A submerged Mayan site that is believed to have been of sacred significance is being explored by scuba divers, and is described as an important addition to our understanding of the Maya.

The site sits below the surface of Lake Atitlan, a volcanic lake in Guatemala, and when it was first discovered a dozen years ago by businessman and hobbyist diver Roberto Samayoa, he had a hard time finding anyone who would believe his story of what he had found according to Reuters.

Using sonar mapping technology as well as very cautious and limited excavation techniques, archaeologists are hard at work characterizing the extent and attributes of this 400 square meter site that sits about 50 feel below the lake’s surface.

What they have found so far points to a facility of clear religious and spiritual significance, as archaeologist Sonia Medrano explains to Reuters:

"We have found six ceremonial monuments and four altars and without doubt there are more, which means this was an extremely important place from a spiritual point of view."

Additional evidence indicates that the inhabitants left in a hurry, suggesting that some sort of catastrophic event such as earthquake, eruption or landslide caused the site to become submerged rapidly.

Photo courtesy of Eusebius, via Wikimedia Commons