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<< Text Pages >> Tahtzibichen Labyrinth - Ancient Temple in Mexico

Submitted by bat400 on Saturday, 13 September 2008  Page Views: 17903

Multi-periodSite Name: Tahtzibichen Labyrinth
Country: Mexico
NOTE: This site is 32.462 km away from the location you searched for.

Type: Ancient Temple
Nearest Town: Merida  Nearest Village: Tahtzibichen
Latitude: 20.900000N  Longitude: 89.9W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
no data Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
no data Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
no data Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
1
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Ancient Temple in Yucatan State, Mexico.
A natural cave labyrinth contains stone temples, small pyramids, and a causeway. Archaeologist Guillermo de Anda believes these structures and finds of sculpture, ceramics and human remains indicate the Maya viewed these passageways as an entrance to the mystic underworld, Xibalba.

Portions of the system can only be reached by divers. The site does not appear to be open top the public.
Water systems in Mexico's Yucatan sink into the porous limestone bedrock to form underground passages. Surface openings that collapse into these passages were a ready water source in ancient and modern times. Their deep pools and blind passages also appear to have inspired Mayan mythology as a place of the dead, accessible to few of the living. Xibalba is described in the Mayan Popul Vuh chronicle, dictated to Spanish priests from either an oral tradition or a translation from now lost Mayan books. De Anda has been studying Mayan uses of caves, sinkhole cenote wells, and underground rivers for many years as part of his El culto al cenote en el centro de Yucatan Project (The Cult of the Cave Well in Central Yucatan). The constructions in nearly inaccessible depths would indicate the caves were a strong inspiration to create a more tangible passage to Xibalba, or perhaps, the mythology and the religious practices were developed together. Most artifacts in the Tahtzibichen caves have been dated to Classical Mayan civilization, ca. 750-850 AD, but some ceramics date to Pre Classical, at about 100 AD.
The location listed if for Merida. The location of this cave system is unknown to us. There are two villages near Merida named Tahtzibichen: one lies on the south eastern edge of Merida, another is approximately 50 miles southeast of Merida.

Note: See linked National Geographic story and another article on the Tahtzibichen cave system in comment.
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2015-12-13 Samahil
2015-12-13 Samahil

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Nearby sites listing. In the following links * = Image available
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The Archaeology of Death and Burial, Parker Pearson

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"Tahtzibichen Labyrinth" | Login/Create an Account | 5 News and Comments
  
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Re: Portal to Mayan Underworld found in Mexico by Anonymous on Tuesday, 07 February 2017
Well I have done some more exploring which included a trip to another pueblo by the same name about 50 miles SE of Merida.

WE ran out to the Hacienda this afternoon and it is indeed closed. No restrurant, no lodging. We climbed the fence and there is no cenote either. We talked to 5 local men and they say there is no cenote there or close by. They were sitting on the very spot the Lat/Long specified! I asked about caves and they were sure that there are no caves in the area either. I asked if they remembered any activities in 2009 by scientists , any excavations etc. Again nothing, nothing, nothing. So there is either an incredible code of silence, or this doesn't exist! So my comment holds.this is not a tourist destination, nor open to the public.

Happy exploring!

Alice Patterson
[ Reply to This ]
    Location unknown. by bat400 on Tuesday, 07 February 2017
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    Alice, Thank you for the information. Many sites on the Megalithic Portal are not open to the public. I've updated the listing to indicate the location of the nearest city, but not the site itself. Perhaps one day we'll have some additional information.
    [ Reply to This ]

Tahtzibichen Labyrinth by Anonymous on Thursday, 12 January 2017
We have explored over 50 Maya sights on the Yucatan peninsula, Belize, and
Guatemala. I drove out to Tabtzibichen yesterday to see the excavation at the Labyrinth. No one in this very small village knows anything about the 'great' and 'spectacular' discovery. I will keep working on this and contact you if I get any more information.

Alice Patterson
[ Reply to This ]

Mayan Underworld - Temples in Underwater Caves by bat400 on Saturday, 13 September 2008
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Originally submitted by coldrum. A slightly different article ---

To enter Maya underworld, Xibalbá, a tortuous road had to be walked; at the end, according to Popol Vuh, the sacred Maya book, there was a lake with houses, where hard tests had to be accomplished.


National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) and Autonomous University of Yucatan (UADY) archaeologists think they may have found this legendary route inside caves and cenotes (sinkholes). Several constructions have been discovered in these underground spaces.


Guillermo de Anda Alanis, director of El Culto al Cenote en el Centro de Yucatan (Cult to Cenote in Central Yucatan) initiative, revealed that finding these buildings has been a pleasant surprise, as they seem to corroborate what historical sources described.


“Caves have been modified to house temples probably dedicated to Xibalba cult; considering they are located in hard to reach places, buildings are complex, some shafts reaching 30 or 40 meters long.”

“In one cave a Sacbe, or ritual roadway has been discovered: it is almost 100 meters long, well cemented and constructed as Chichen Itza one. It runs from East to West, and turns where a body of water is found, to end in front of a stalactite and stalagmite column that reminds a Ceiba tree, Maya symbolic ancestor. This is proof of an intentional trace, similar to Balakanche cave, at Chichen Itza.”



The UADY underwater archaeologist detailed the roadway ends in 3 platforms that reach the water. A model is observed in several caves: a natural doorway bricked up with stones to leave a small access, 1 meter high and 60 cm wide.


Some of these spaces kept burials and offerings, such as earthenware and sculptures; dating ceramic tests reveal they were offered between Pre Classic and Post Classic periods, most of them belonging to Late Classic (750-850 AD) age. Among findings, a 1,900 years old vessel is the earliest piece discovered in Northern Yucatan.


First stage of the El Culto al Cenote initiative was research: one 16th century historical source refers to idolatry persecution, where 17 caves and cenotes where Maya practiced rites are mentioned.


To the present day, the initiative is at in situ check up stage, with Yucatan INAH Center collaboration.



a href="http://dti.inah.gob.mx/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=1602&Itemid=150">This is a link
[ Reply to This ]

Portal to Mayan Underworld found in Mexico by bat400 on Tuesday, 26 August 2008
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A labyrinth filled with stone temples and pyramids in 14 caves—some underwater—have been uncovered on Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, archaeologists announced last week.

The discovery has experts wondering whether Maya legend inspired the construction of the underground complex—or vice versa.

According to Maya myth, the souls of the dead had to follow a dog with night vision on a horrific and watery path and endure myriad challenges before they could rest in the afterlife.

In one of the recently found caves, researchers discovered a nearly 300-foot (90-meter) concrete road that ends at a column standing in front of a body of water.

"We have this pattern now of finding temples close to the water—or under the water, in this most recent case," said Guillermo de Anda, lead investigator at the research sites.

"These were probably made as part of a very elaborate ritual," de Anda said. "Everything is related to death, life, and human sacrifice."

For more, see Alexis Okeowo's article in National Geographic News.
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