Thousand-year-old tomb contains jade mask of Mayan king

Archaeologists find 1,000-year-old tomb of Mayan king with jade mask and cinnabar-painted remains.

Mayan king's red-painted jade mask. Photo: National Geographic.

The tomb of a Mayan king was unearthed at the El Perú-Waka' site in the rainforests of northern Guatemala, Live Science reported. Although the ancient city was home to hundreds of structures, including pyramids, palaces, plazas and houses, the tomb was not discovered until the 1960s when oil workers stumbled upon the ruins.

The El Perú-Waka' site was inhabited during the ancient Maya period (200–800 AD) and had close ties to the neighboring cities of Tikal and Calakmul. A wealthy royal family once ruled Waka' and controlled an important trade route along the San Pedro River.

A team of American and Guatemalan archaeologists have been excavating Waka' since 2003. They found the burial sites of several kings and queens along with some remains that were likely sacrificial offerings.

In the most recent discovery, last summer, researchers dug beneath the city’s palace wall and found what is believed to be the oldest royal tomb at the site. Based on the style of pottery found in the tomb, they believe the burial date was between 300 and 350 AD.

The tomb of a Mayan king was excavated by archaeologists. Photo: National Geographic.

David Freidel, a professor of anthropology at Washington University in St. Louis who co-directed the excavation, said the Maya king's tomb contributed to making the royal palace a sacred place for the Wak dynasty.

Freidel and colleagues determined that the tomb definitely belonged to a king because the red-painted jade mask depicted the Maya king as the Maize God, with a forehead engraved with a symbol meaning "yellow" and "precious" in ancient Maya.

The tomb also contained a number of ceramic vessels, shells, and crocodile pendants. It was opened at least once after 600 AD so that later generations could repaint the king's remains with red dye made from cinnabar.

Although no inscriptions in the tomb revealed the king's identity, Freidel's team concluded that it was probably King Te' Chan Ahk, a famous king of the Wak dynasty who ruled in the early 4th century.

According to VNE