2,300-year-old Mayan pyramid bulldozed
Photo courtesy: www.chaacreek.com
A construction company has
essentially destroyed one of Belize's largest Mayan pyramids with backhoes and
bulldozers to extract rock for a road-building project.
The head of the Belize Institute of Archaeology says the
destruction was detected late last week.
Only a small portion of center of the pyramid mound was left
standing.
Dr. Jaime Awe says he was sickened by the destruction of the
Nohmul pyramid and temple platform, which date back about 2,300 years.
Photos of the portion that remained showed what appeared to be
classic Mayan-arched chamber dangling above one clawed-out section.
Photo Courtesy: www.nbcnews.com
The Nohmul complex sits on private land, but Belizean law states
any pre-Hispanic ruins are under government protection.
Dr. Awe said the builders
could not possibly have mistaken the pyramid mound, which is about 100 feet
tall. “These guys knew that this was an ancient structure. It’s just bloody
laziness,” Dr Awe said.
A construction company said
to be owned by a well-known Belizean politician is being investigated.
Francisco Estrada-Belli, a
professor at Tulane University’s Anthropology Department, said “Unfortunately,
this destruction of our heritage is irreversible but many don’t take it
seriously,” he added that, “The only way to stop it is by showing that it is a
major crime and people can and will go to jail for it.”
Belize is not the only
country where such crimes occur. The ancient Maya civilisation spread across
what is known as the Mundo Maya, or Maya World, that encompasses all of present
day Belize and parts of Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador. They were
prolific builders with cities, such as Caracol in Belize that boasted
populations of well over 100,000 and left behind vast areas of structures.
Unfortunately, many of these buildings continue to be looted and destroyed.
And to make an already deplorable situation worse, Awe says the damage to the site will make it near impossible to get grants from donors to preserve other sites, when our very own people are destroying them.
And to make an already deplorable situation worse, Awe says the damage to the site will make it near impossible to get grants from donors to preserve other sites, when our very own people are destroying them.
Sources:
Email: gomezisl@btl.net
Unbelievable that this was allowed to happen. Stood for 2300 years and now gone
ReplyDeleteWhat a shame !!