Portal to mythical Mayan underworld discovered

Buy an ad on DigitalJournal.com

Researchers have discovered the stone ruins of 11 sacred temples and what could be the remains of human sacrifices at the site in the Yucatan Peninsula.

Ancient Mayans believed,the maze of stone temples in underground caves, some submerged in water and containing human bones, was a portal where dead souls entered the underworld, just as KJ writes in her article :

In the city of Chichen Itza Mayan priests offered human sacrifices to the gods for rain and a bountiful crop. The sacrificed children were thrown into "cenotes", sinkhole caves. The Mayans believed that this source of water was also the entrance into the underworld.

Archaeologists claim that Mayans believed the underground complex of water-filled caves leading into dry chambers, including an underground road stretching around 330 feet, was the path to a mythical underworld known as Xibalba.

According to an ancient Mayan scripture, the Popol Vuh, the route was filled with obstacles, including rivers filled with scorpions, blood and pus, and houses shrouded in darkness or swarming with shrieking bats, Guillermo De Anda, one of the lead investigators at the sit, said on Thursday, in a Reuters report.

"The souls of the dead followed a mythical dog who could see at night, "de Anda said.

"They believed that this place was the entrance to Xibalba. That is why we have found the offerings there," de Anda said, as they had discovered over five months of excavation, stone carvings and pottery left for the dead.

The Mayans built soaring pyramids and elaborate palaces in Central America and southern Mexico before mysteriously abandoning their cities around 900 A.D.

They described the torturous journey to Xibalba in the Popul Vuh sacred text, originally written in hieroglyphic script on long scrolls and later transcribed by Spanish conquerors.

In the Yucatan site they have found one 1,900-year-old ceramic vase, but most of the artifacts date back to between 700 and 850 A.D.

Fascinating as always, the discovery of our past, and certainly they had a far wilder imagination, though i admit, i might just believe in portals.