Owen Jarus
Sun, November 12, 2023
The anthropomorphic sculpture of the Maya warrior.
Archaeologists in Mexico have discovered a 1,000-year-old statue of a Maya warrior in the basement of a temple at Chichén Itzá in the Yucatán Peninsula.
The statue depicts a warrior wearing a helmet shaped like a serpent with its jaws open, as well as a feathered headdress, Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) said in a translated statement. The statue is 13 inches (33 centimeters) tall and 11 inches (28 cm) wide, and aside from a crack, it's in good shape, according to the statement. The head may have once been part of a larger sculptural design.
Chichén Itzá flourished between the ninth and 13th centuries and covers more than 740 acres (300 hectares). At the center of the site, a pyramid known as El Castillo (The Castle) rises 100 feet (30 meters) high. The site has many temples, as well as a massive ball court and an astronomical observatory.
Related: Palatial 1,500-year-old Maya structure unearthed in Mexico
The carving shows a snake's head over the human's likeness.
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The site is a popular tourist destination, and over the past few years, the INAH has been modifying and building new visitor centers and museums, as well as a new train line, known as the "Tren Maya," near the site, the statement said. The statue was found during archaeological work accompanying that railway construction.
A wealth of other archaeological finds have been made during this construction work, including about 660 human burials, over 1 million ceramic fragments, the remains of numerous architectural structures, and a variety of other artifacts, the statement said.
Florida Transportation Crews Unearth "Nearly Intact" 19th Century Shipwreck
Stephanie Gallman Jordan
Sun, November 12, 2023
"It's truly an incredible find"
Courtesy Florida Department of Transportation
Construction crews in Florida recently made an “incredible find” after unearthing a 19th-century shipwreck.
The “nearly intact” vessel was discovered by Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) crews during construction activities near the Bridge of Lions in St. Augustine, Florida.
The ship is believed to be a “small single-masted, shallow-draft sailing craft … that was likely used to extract fish and shellfish from coastal waterways and directly offshore,” according to Dr. James Delgado who led the excavation and recovery on behalf of SEARCH, the archaeology group onsite for the project.
Courtesy Daniel Fiore (SEARCH, Inc.) & Florida Department of Transportation, District Two
Officials believe the ship sank unexpectedly and became fully encapsulated in mud and “silted in” helping to preserve it so well.
“There was no air contact for it to decay,” Greg Evans, District 2 Secretary for FDOT said.
Because of the historic area, FDOT requires an archeologist to be onsite throughout construction to handle any and all potential historic finds like this one. When crews spotted the older timber, they paused what they were doing for the SEARCH archeologist to investigate.
“At first it did not look like an impressive find,” Hampton Ray, Community Outreach Manager with FDOT admits.
Courtesy Daniel Fiore (SEARCH, Inc.) & Florida Department of Transportation, District Two
Crews kept the vessel wet throughout the excavation and used small tools to help remove layers of mud, sediment and a thick layer of marine shells covering it.
Artifacts including a wooden handle, the base of an oil-fired lantern, and the remains of a leather shoe were also found buried within the mud near the vessel.
Turning a construction site into an archeological dig and then back into a construction site took “great care” and a significant amount of coordination “between archeologists, construction crews and community stakeholders.”
Courtesy Daniel Fiore (SEARCH, Inc.) & Florida Department of Transportation, District Two
“FDOT is grateful to the city, the project managers and every partner that lent a hand to make this excavation successful,” Ray said.
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