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Ancient polychrome benches found outside Chetumal along Maya Train route

Chetumal, Q.R. — The National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) says conservation of of ancient polychrome benches found during construction of the Maya Train are finished.

As part of the actions of the Archaeological Rescue Project that accompanied the construction works of the Mayan Trai, INAH completed the stabilization and release tasks of two modeled and polychrome stucco benches found on a section that runs from Chetumal, in Quintana Roo, to Escárcega, in Campeche.

The discovery of the pair of architectural elements was recorded on December 18, 2023, 73 kilometers from the city of Chetumal during excavations carried out on the side of the access road to the town of Tres Garantías and near the Chakanbakán Archaeological Zone.

They were located inside the monument called T7_35070, which, according to the coordinator of the excavation at that front, Ramón Enrique Carrillo Sánchez, corresponds to the Late Classic period (600-900 AD).

The coordinator of the Conservation Area of the Maya Train Archaeological Rescue Project, Felix Camacho Zamora, reported that the complex consists of two benches, which were removed from the site on December 23, 2023 to be restored at the Chetumal Restoration Laboratory.

There, it was determined that their state of conservation was regular to poor, derived from deterioration generated by the recrystallization of salts on the surface, volumetric and chromatic losses, abrasion, rootlets and erosion, a result of the burial context and exposure to environmental factors, such as humidity and temperature changes.

Some of the modelled stucco elements were at risk of falling off so a protective edging and lime grout injections were applied to restore their firmness.

“The objective was to guarantee the stability of the elements of the monument, which is made up of a base with three upper bodies that, according to a stratigraphic study, were determined to have four construction stages,” he said.

The removal of the benches, explained restorer Karla Mora Yerena, was carried out mechanically and manually, dismantling each element individually which allowed them to be packed for their transfer to the laboratory.

One bench was 3 meters long with “the anthropomorphic figures in an upright position with their hands on their chests. Two of them are ochre-colored and the other is red.

“They wear loincloths and on top there is a garment that covers their shoulders, part of their chest and arms. On the upper extremities there are some geometric figures in black, which simulate a type of fabric. It is believed that they could be associated with funeral rituals,” Mora Yerena explained.

The second bench, in the form of an L, she said, measures 1.80 meters on the south side, and 2.27 meters on the east wing; it consists of 11 rectangular ashlars, faced with remains of red polychrome stucco, which are 54 centimeters long, 36 wide and 17 thick.

The conservation work will continue in the laboratory where, once the ceramic and iconographic analyses are completed, the architectural style of the structures, their symbolism and temporality will be determined with greater precision.

Once the restoration is finished, it is hoped that the benches can be exhibited in a museum, while the monument will be relocated in its entirety for its preservation.