Yucatan — The general director of INAH, Diego Prieto Hernández announces two new archaeological museums for Yucatan. He says one will be the Puuc Archaeological Museum, which will exhibit pieces recovered in Section 3 of the Maya Train, while the Dzibilchaltún Site Museum is being restructured.
In a press conference, Prieto Hernández explained that a selection of extraordinary pieces discovered during the archaeological salvage tasks in Section 3 of the Maya Train will enrich the contents of the Puuc Archaeological Museum.
He said that the pieces were discovered along the Maya Train section that runs from Calkiní in Campeche, to Izamal, in Yucatán. He said that progress is being made in the construction of Puuc and the restructuring of Dzibilchaltún to expose the development of these ancient urban centers.
“We are currently working on the renovation of the Dzibilchaltún Site Museum, an archaeological zone located 15 kilometers from Mérida, to incorporate, through a new museographic discourse, the most recent investigations of what is considered one of the largest known sets of pre-Columbian ruins, a center of importance from before our era, until the time of the Spanish conquest.
“There is already an executive project for it, and progress of 85% and 90% respectively, in the new scientific script and in the classification of archaeological pieces that will be on display,” he explained.
He added that conservation work is also being done in Dzibilchaltún, specifically in the Temple of the Seven Dolls. The projects in this building are from the end of the Middle Classic period (around 750 AD), whose architectural typology and alignment with the four cardinal points suggest an astronomical and calendrical function, have 73%, and the construction of the Catvi and the service unit, 13.5 percent.
In addition, he added they are about to finish the leveling and foundation for the service units in places of the Puuc Route, such as Oxkintok, Kabah, Sayil, Chacmultún and Labná.
He said that Kabah will be the headquarters of the Puuc Museum and that the archaeological work on this site has been completed and those concerning restoration and conservation are about to close.
Similar cases are found in the South Plaza of the Archaeological Zone of Uxmal, where the excavation and consolidation of its structures is at 95%, and in the Grutas de Loltún, whose petroglyphs received restoration-conservation treatments and can now be admired again.
The general director of the INAH pointed out that, as of May 1, 2023, in the archaeological salvage tasks in Section 3 of the Maya Train, 7,360 real estate (foundations, albarradas and pre-Hispanic basements) have been registered and preserved, 375 chattels including metates and other ceramic objects, as well as 294,530 potsherds, 19 burials and 119 natural features associated with human settlements were found.
