Archaeologists excavating a looted pyramid tomb among the ruins of the Mayan city of Petén in northeastern Guatemala have discovered a mysterious jade mask believed to belong to a previously unknown Mayan king.

A little-known archaeological site, Chochquitam is located near the Peten Basin, a subregion of the Maya Lowlands in northwestern Guatemala. This region is considered the center of the Classic Maya period, which lasted from 200 to 900 AD. This site was first reported in 1909, and current investigations have revealed three large monumental groups connected by a long central passage.

In ancient times, the value of jade went far beyond its material value. The Mayans considered him the protector of posterity, the living and the dead. For this reason, jade masks were commonly used to symbolize gods or ancestors and were used to represent the wealth and influence of the person buried. Following a LiDAR survey in 2021, archaeologists discovered that tomb robbers had dug a tunnel into the core of the royal pyramid. Further examination revealed that the attackers had overlooked a specific section of the pyramid’s inner chamber.

Funerary gifts were found, including a human skull and bones, some carved with hieroglyphs, a stone coffin-shaped box, ceramic artifacts and a pot, oyster shells, and several pieces of jade that fit together to form a jade mask. a result of this oversight.

The name Itzam Kokaj Bahlam is written in carvings and hieroglyphs on some bone fragments. Researchers suggest that the name may belong to a buried Mayan king who ruled the Chochkits around 350 AD. The most fascinating feature of all is that a carving on one of the bones shows the ruler holding the head of a Mayan god, like a pieced together jade mask.

All artifacts and bones discovered in the Chochkitam tomb were taken to the Holmul Archaeological Project (HAP) laboratory for cleaning and field analysis.

There, archaeologists collected and exposed individual jade blocks and were able to reconstruct the entire jade mosaic mask. According to an article in National Geographic, lead archaeologist Francisco Estrada-Belli of Tulane University and his team discovered the burial using LIDAR mapping technology. The mask is a manifestation of the storm god worshiped by the Mayans.