Chetumal is a city in southeastern Mexico. It is located at the tip of the Mexican Caribbean coast and its history dates back to the Mayans. About 15 kilometers from the city is the Oxtankah Archaeological Site, one of the many archaeological sites in Mexico (a number that continues to grow due to the continued discovery of pre-Hispanic structures) and where you can see one of the three open chapels preserved in the Yucatan Peninsula.

The Oxtankah chapel is a treasure and its history is estimated to date back to the 16th century, but beyond its history, it is famous for being one of the main attractions of the Mayan Train route that passes south of Mexico and for its state of preservation. With the vandalism of the Mayan masons. Or should we say the “art” of the Mayan masons?

Painted in the church

The truth is that the church is quite simple. It has two rooms, a presbytery and there are researchers who say that the walls are partially covered. It is located in the area where there is supposed to be a Mayan settlement and the Spanish strategy in this area was the same as in others: as a sign of dominance, they built a Catholic church on top of the pre-Hispanic settlement rubble.

Ultimately, Spanish settlement in the area did not come to fruition, but the church was rebuilt using stones from the same Mayan structures in the area. If construction had been completed, the walls would have been raised and then vaulted.

But the chapel managed to fulfill part of its mission, because it is not far to think that the monks gathered there people who wanted to spread the gospel. But something very special that remains with us today is its arch. And not just because of the arch itself, but because of the graffiti mentioned above.

There is a boat on the top right. More or less

In 1988, researchers noticed a carving of some sort on the south door of the baptistery showing three naves. The researchers suggest that Mayan researchers may have carved the scene into the rocks after seeing ships on the shore, and although you have to use your imagination, it is easy to see at least one of these ships.

In situ protection

But while not very large, there is more to see at Oxtankah than just the chapel, and one of the most interesting elements is an ornate stucco that dates to between 200 and 650 AD. It is a motif representing a jaguar and a jaguar. As researcher Luis Raíl Pantoja Díaz explains, “it gives the building a symbolic significance, as its façade faces east and signals the birth of a new day.”

Before

After that

INAH changelog

This structure, called ‘Mascarón’, has great cultural importance, but since a protective element was broken by the passing of Hurricane Dean in 2007, the rains increased the moisture level of the plaster, so INAH researchers and restorers started conservation work in the same place.

This application, carried out on a façade measuring 3.54 metres long by 48 centimetres high and 6.06 metres long by 66 centimetres high, consists of injecting lime water and mortar with materials from the region. These replaced the plaster shapes to recover the volumes, based on images from the excavations in 1997.

In addition, a treatment was carried out to prevent the proliferation of microorganisms in the pores of the stone, and the water falls were directed sideways so that the water would not constantly fall back onto the wall in case of rain.

After all, this preservation at the same site of discovery is something that is common today, but was not so common a few decades ago. Certainly one of the pioneers of the search to leave the assets of the past in place was Teoberto Maler, who managed to document El Castillo de Chichén Itzá in 1892.

Pictures | INAH

In Xataka | The Coahuila desert hides the skeleton of the ‘Man of Bilbao’, another archaeological site in the Mexican collection