Palace Complex Relocated Near Mayan Train Station 2024

The palace complex was originally found at Kilometer 95,500 of the Escárcega-Chetumal federal highway
Palace Complex Relocated Near Mayan Train Station

In the near future, travelers arriving at the Calakmul station of the Mayan Train will be able to admire an ancient palace complex, which was located 3.5 kilometers from the station during archaeological surveys associated with the construction of Section 7 of the railway line.

A specialized team is carrying out the meticulous task of relocating four monuments, stone by stone.

Preservation efforts by INAH

The decision to relocate and preserve this important architectural site was made by the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) under the Secretariat of Culture, in collaboration with the INAH Campeche Center.

The palace complex was originally found at Kilometer 95.500 of the Escárcega-Chetumal federal highway, within the Nuevo Conhuás ejido in the municipality of Calakmul.

Are You Planning to Travel on the Mayan Train?

Find the best offers and promotions on flights and accommodation:

The discovery of this palace, which features characteristic elements of the Río Bec and Chenes architectural styles, was made during a survey of the railroad right-of-way.

The official registration of the site took place on November 9, 2022, with conservation work extending from February 23 to March 23, 2023.

According to archaeologist Juan Jesús Guadalupe García Ramírez, who oversees the project, this relocation offers the ancient structures a “second life.”

He notes that these remains were probably part of a site related to nearby Balamkú, a medium-sized city from the Early Classic period (250-600 AD), influenced by Calakmul, which is located about 60 kilometers away in the jungle.

Mayan Train Could Reach Sinaloa: This Is What We Know

Palace Complex Relocated Near Mayan Train Station

A New Interactive Museum

The new site for this former palace complex is intended to become an interactive museum where visitors can learn about the historical context of the site.

Among the artifacts discovered is a sculpture of the Mayan deity Ah Puch, known as “The Stinking One,” associated with the lowest level of Xibalba, the Mayan underworld. The temple at the site was likely dedicated to this deity.

Engineer Israel Diéguez Jiménez played a key role in preparing the site for relocation.

A special platform was built of sascab, a local material, with a hardness of 98 percent.

The platform, averaging one meter high and measuring 30 meters by 20 meters, now supports concrete slabs that will anchor the relocated structures.

Detailed Reconstruction Process

Prior to the controlled dismantling of the site, digitization experts including Sergio Armando Dueñas Rodríguez, Francisco Luna López, and Kevin Antonio Samaniego Rivera used aerial photogrammetry to create a three-dimensional record of the site.

During the deconstruction phase, each stone was marked with an alphanumeric code to ensure its correct placement during reconstruction.

Archaeologist García Ramírez, along with colleagues Cristopher Jiménez Meza and José Manuel Vásquez Martínez, oversees the reconstruction.

He details that the original platform on which the buildings were erected was rectangular with rounded corners, measuring 58 meters from north to south, 50 meters from east to west, and two meters high.

The platform featured a central courtyard with a stuccoed surface, surrounded by five structures made of limestone blocks, both worked and raw. Each building had stucco floors and probably vaulted ceilings.

The reconstruction will focus on four of these upper monuments, including a temple (Structure T7_28032) measuring 20 meters long by 10 meters wide and two meters high.

The temple features a stepped north side and a crescent-shaped south side with rounded corners.

Palace Complex Relocated Near Mayan Train Station

Offering of Consecration

In the center of the temple, a circular structure measuring 4.40 meters in diameter was discovered, built with trapezoidal stones joined with lime mortar.

Inside, an offering dedicated to the building was found, which included human remains such as teeth and skull fragments, two ceramic bowls and the aforementioned sculpture of Ah Puch.

The sculpture measures 25 centimeters high, 12 centimeters long and eight centimeters deep.

The two bowls are polychrome and have three globular supports, known as mammiforms.

The figure of Ah Puch, carved in limestone and still with remains of red pigment, is represented with a large phallus and an erect tabular cranial deformation.

The deity also wears a skull mask, a nose ring and a pectoral, attributes characteristic of this Mayan god of death.

BUY TICKETS

MAYAN TRAIN ROUTE