Archaeologists Unearth Treasure-Filled Tomb Belonging to the First Known Ruler of a Maya City in Belize

More than 1,500 years ago, the ancient Maya city of Caracol thrived in the forests of modern-day Belize. Rediscovered in the mid-20th century, the city’s ruins include pyramids, monuments, a ball court and countless artifacts.

Now, for the first time, researchers from the University of Houston have unearthed a royal tomb in Caracol. It belonged to the city’s first known ruler, Te K’ab Chaak.

Te K’ab Chaak founded the royal dynasty of Caracol, which is the largest Maya archaeological site in Belize, according to a statement from the university. His tomb was filled with riches: tubes of carved bone, jadeite jewelry and a mask, shells, and 11 pottery vessels.

“They’ve found a very early ruler, so that’s very important, and he’s claimed to be the founder of a dynasty,” Gary Feinman, an archaeologist at the Field Museum of Chicago who wasn't involved in the research, tells the New York Times’ Alan Yuhas. “That’s a major find.”

Arlen Chase and Diane Chase, a husband-and-wife duo who are both archaeologists at the University of Houston, have been leading research at Caracol for more than 40 years. This year, they were focused on the relationship between the ancient city and Teotihuacán, located northeast of what is now Mexico City.

They decided to work in the site’s Northeast Acropolis, a raised complex of buildings just outside the city center, which had “an area that was clearly unexcavated,” Arlen tells Newsweek’s Jenna Sundel. After reopening a burial chamber they’d originally explored in 1993, they dug through its floor and “immediately hit this chamber.”

“As soon as we saw the chamber, we knew we had something,” Arlen tells the Times.

The style of the ceramic vessels in the room suggested the tomb was very old. Meanwhile, the considerable presence of a mineral called red cinnabar hinted that a high-status individual had been buried there. As Arlen says in a video released by the university, “You’re dealing with some of the highest royalty when the things get covered in cinnabar.”

The collection of artifacts inside the tomb also appears to have belonged to someone special. Researchers found three sets of jadeite ear ornaments called earflares. “That’s incredibly unusual,” says Diane in the video. “We don’t usually get one set of earflares, much less multiples.” She adds that the tomb also contained a mosaic death mask, which is “even more unusual.” The Chases have only found one other death mask, which aren’t common at Maya sites.

The pottery was also impressive. One vessel has a lid sculpted to resemble a coatimundi, a member of the raccoon family, and painted with a portrait of Ek Chuah, the Maya god of trade. Other pots feature depictions of a hummingbird, a monkey, an owl and a spear-wielding ruler.

Te K’ab Chaak rose to power in 331 C.E., during the Maya Early Classic period. In the tomb, the researchers found a toothless human skull and other bones that may have belonged to the ruler, who they think stood around five-foot-seven.

The ancient Maya generally believed that their kings were chosen by the gods. As the grave goods suggest, Te K’ab Chaak was likely a wealthy “warrior king” who “was very much involved in trade,” Arlen says in the video.

“This guy is a one-percenter and that’s why he has so many vessels and three sets of jade earflares in that chamber,” Arlen adds in the statement. “The Early Classic period is the time when the rulers assert the fact that they oversee everything, completely distant from the rest of the population. That changes at the end of the Early Classic period, especially in Caracol, when, after the successful warfare against Tikal, they start to share the wealth with the general population. But not this person.”