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Conservation work on the Nohoch Mul building in the Archaeological Zone of Cobá is finished

Tulum, Q.R. — Conservation work on the Nohoch Mul Building in Archaeological Zone of Cobá is finished. The work done consisted of the application of two sacrificial floors that will protect the pre-Hispanic elements.

Conservation work on the Nohoch Mul building in the Archaeological Zone of Cobá is finished

The project was carried out from August to December 2024 as part of the Archaeological Zones Improvement Program (Promeza) by the Ministry of Culture of the Government of Mexico, through the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).

Work was done on two platforms of the upper temple of the Nohoch Mul building. At 42 meters, the building is the tallest in the north of the Yucatan Peninsula and was the seat of power of the ancient Mayan city.

Promeza Cobá field manager Julieta Ramos Pacheco, and one of the archaeologists in charge of maintaining the building’s platforms, Aquetzalli Rodríguez Fuentes, explained that the work consisted of applying sacrificial floors on those levels.

This solution consists of covering the original elements with a layer of compatible contemporary material, which has the function of protecting and absorbing environmental degradation processes, so that the archaeological heritage is not affected.

Ramos Pacheco explained that, to carry out this application, the previously used material, which consisted of stones joined with cement, as well as the vegetal layer, was first removed.

The sacrificial floor consisted of placing an interface based on stone dust, which was flattened and leveled. Then a layer of small gravel was placed and finally, a mortar based on lime paste, stone dust and gravel of smaller grain size.

Another of the projects in the upper temple of the building was the restoration of the joints deteriorated by exposure to the sun and wind, which were reintegrated with a special mortar with lime paste that served to fill them and vein them.

According to Aquetzalli Rodríguez, the sacrificial floors were used to increase the height of the platforms by five centimeters, but the unevenness of the drains was maintained. To do this, just like the ancient Mayans, they filled the platforms with materials obtained from the same excavations.

“There were two centimeters, three at most, of leveling, and three centimeters of calcrete, as the colleagues who work in Cobá call it locally, a combination of gravel, lime paste, pozzolanic and stone dust. All of this together makes a strong and friendly mixture,” he added.

This work involved a general cleaning of the platforms and some excavations, with two test pits and a trench that allowed us to learn about the construction system of these elevations and understand their structure.

On platform 1, 11 meters long by 3.2 meters wide, evidence of a floor and construction filling was found, with few ceramic elements. According to the specialist, the construction shows that it was a space not intended for everyday life, but for ritual or government.

On the second platform, 9 meters long by 3.5 meters wide and located southeast of the temple, there is a small altar, which was also maintained. In that space, the excavation left evidence of three floors of stucco, which suggests the probability that they correspond to the same number of restoration stages during the pre-Hispanic era.

Rodríguez Fuentes is confident that the conservation work will protect the platforms for more than 10 years.

“Lime paste is a tool that helps them last a long time. If the floors are thousands of years old, then we hope that this sacrificial floor will also last as long as possible.”

“Weather conditions help or affect the slaughter floor. Here, it rains heavily and takes away part of the progress, or the heat is very intense and cracks it, so certain adjustments must be made. In the case of a strong heat wave, for example, the floor must be constantly hydrated until it sets in the best way,” said the specialist.

The team was complemented by the participation of archaeologist Aldo Germán Dena Castro, responsible for the care of the roof of the Nohoch Mul temple, and restorers Carolina Segura and Carlos Monroy.

The Nohoch Mul was continuously occupied from 300 to 1200 AD. Its construction dates back to the Classic period (200-900 AD), and its upper temple dates from the Postclassic (900-1521 AD), influenced by the Mayan architectural style known as Petén, characterized by pyramidal bases that tend towards verticality, with inclined staircases and large crests, explained Julieta Ramos.

He said that the ‘Foundation Rock’, found in 2024, alludes to the emblematic building, where in the year 569 the seat of power was established on the “Cerro del Venado” or Nohoch Mul. This term is modern and actually means “Big Hill”, but this name was given to the monument because it is on a natural elevation, the highest in Cobá.