Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com – El Castillo, also called the Temple of Kukulcán, is a distinguished stepped pyramid situated on the heart of Chichen Itza in Yucatán, Mexico.
Credit score: Kukulcan – Public Area, El Castillo and the NAUM Mission INAH. Picture compilation by AncientPages.com
Constructed by the pre-Columbian Maya civilization between the eighth and twelfth centuries CE, it served as a temple devoted to Kukulcán, the Feathered Serpent deity of the Yucatec Maya. This deity is carefully related to Quetzalcoatl, revered by the Aztecs and different historic Central Mexican cultures. El Castillo measures practically 55.5 meters on either side and stands about 30 meters tall, making it the biggest construction by quantity at Chichen Itza.
The Nationwide Institute of Anthropology and Historical past (INAH) has introduced a brand new mapping mission to detect inside constructions inside El Castillo. As a part of this initiative, Mexican and American scientists will set up two muon detectors in tunnels contained in the pyramid. The first objective is to establish rooms referred to as Providing and Sacrifice chambers—and doubtlessly to find one other hidden chamber—utilizing muon tomography. This non-invasive methodology permits researchers to discover inside options with out damaging or disturbing the monument.
Edmundo García Solís, principal investigator for this mission, defined that this research represents years of preparation and experimentation; fieldwork is scheduled to start in late 2025. The trouble will check the effectiveness of muon imaging on one in every of Mesoamerica’s most vital monuments, utilizing detectors designed particularly for these situations.
Guadalupe Espinosa Rodríguez, director of the Chichén Itzá Archaeological Zone, notes that El Castillo dates to across the tenth century CE and was constructed in a number of phases, as have been many different Maya temples. In earlier excavations throughout the Thirties, led by Eduardo Martínez Cantón and José Erosa Peniche, archaeologists excavated a tunnel from the north aspect that led to chambers containing choices corresponding to a Chac Mool sculpture and a red-painted jaguar throne—options now focused for additional research utilizing muon know-how by means of present tunnels.
Earlier analysis carried out by the Nationwide Autonomous College of Mexico’s (UNAM) Institute of Geophysics in 2016 used electrical resistivity tomography; the outcomes urged the presence of further inside areas inside El Castillo. Muon imaging provides a bonus as a result of it might scan at nearly limitless depths inside stone constructions.
This strategy builds upon profitable experiments carried out beneath Teotihuacan’s Pyramid of the Solar, utilizing related strategies developed by physicist Arturo Menchaca Rocha, who now contributes experience to this new mission at Chichén Itzá.
Credit score: INAH
For his or her work on El Castillo, scientists have constructed two similar muon detectors designed to be used in confined areas with excessive humidity (practically 100%) and temperatures of roughly 32°C (90°F). Every detector consists of three folding digital planes mounted onto frames appropriate for these difficult situations.
In keeping with García Solís: “These detectors measure variations in density—essentially the most pronounced being empty voids.” If one other chamber exists however is partially stuffed quite than empty, it will require extra information as a result of the distinction ranges detected by the devices are decrease.
See additionally: Extra Archaeology Information
The preliminary six-month part primarily goals to map identified chambers clearly; if anomalies suggesting further rooms are recognized throughout scanning, the group will reposition tools accordingly earlier than concluding their contribution as soon as all accessible information have been gathered.
Researchers hope that making use of this superior method may assist verify or refute longstanding archaeological theories—together with one proposed by historian Virginia E. Miller, suggesting an earlier substructure inside El Castillo might have functioned as a royal burial website.
Supply: INAH
Written by Jan Bartek – AncientPages.com Workers Author
