The thick vegetation covered as far as the eye could see. Kilometers and kilometers of roads and alleys between the trees of the Balamkú ecological reserve, in the state of Campeche (Mexico). There are more than 3,000 square kilometers of uninhabited land in the middle of a jungle that seems virgin.
But a millennium ago, the area looked quite different. At that time, numerous cylindrical stone columns were distributed throughout an ancient Mayan settlement that has just been discovered by a team of researchers led by archaeologist Ivan Ṡprajc.
The experts have not hesitated for a second when naming the city: Ocomtún. Or 'stone column', which is what that word means in Yucatec Maya. The city, found thanks to aerial images, is located in the northwest of the territory belonging to the municipality of Calakmul.
“The biggest surprise turned out to be this site located on a ‘peninsula’ of high ground, surrounded by extensive wetlands. Its monumental core covers more than 50 hectares and has various large buildings, including several pyramidal structures over 15 meters high,” explains Ṡprajc.
During the months of May and June, the task force focused on the northern end of the area based on airborne laser scans (LiDAR) conducted by the National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping at the University of Houston. The data obtained allowed us to recognize numerous pre-Hispanic structures.
“The site probably functioned as an important regional center during the Classic period (250-1000 AD). The most common ceramic types that we collected on the surface and in some pits are from the Late Classic (600-800 AD); However, the analysis of samples of this material will offer us more reliable data on the occupation sequences”, the anthropologist details in a statement.
The numerous cylindrical columns found must have been part of the entrances to the upper rooms of the buildings. Close to Ocomtún are the sites of the Chenes region, about 30 kilometers to the northeast; Nadzcaan, 36 kilometers to the southeast; and Chactún, 50 kilometers to the southeast, reported a decade ago by the same team.
Of Ocomtún, Ivan Ṡprajc highlights the southeastern part, made up of three plazas dominated by imposing buildings and surrounded by several patio groups: “between the two main plazas there is a complex made up of various low and elongated structures, arranged almost in concentric circles; a ball game is also included.”
In turn, a causeway connects the southeastern complex with the northwestern part, where the most voluminous construction of the site is located, an acropolis with a rectangular plan, whose sides measure 80 meters and its height is about 10 meters. In its northern part, there is also a pyramid that rises 25 meters.
The lost city underwent notable alterations during the Terminal Classic period (800-1000 AD), as can be deduced from the shrines in the center of patios and squares, with construction elements that were extracted from nearby buildings. “It reflects ideological and population changes in times of crisis that, finally, by the 10th century, led to the collapse of the complex sociopolitical organization and the drastic demographic reduction in the Maya Central Lowlands,” explains the anthropologist.
The archaeologists also explored structures in the area that extends to the La Rigueña river, with characteristics similar to those of Ocomtún: stairways and monolithic columns. They also found several sets of unknown use "which in some cases include the ball game, and in others, central altars that could be part of markets or spaces for community rituals," he concludes.
