Where the Mayan king travels is still the subject of controversy among scholars who are exploring the crypt at the Temple of the Inscriptions in Palenque.
Every sign is a hint
The city of Palenque (Mexico), one of the centers of the Mayan civilization, lost in an impassable jungle, became famous in 1949 thanks to the discoveries of the Mexican archaeologist Alberto Rusa. In particular, he unearthed the so-called Temple of the Inscriptions, so named because its slabs were dotted with graphic signs, of which there were more than 600.
After examining the temple, Rus found a hidden entrance to a huge crypt, where Pacal, one of the rulers of the Mayan kingdom, was buried in 683.
The tomb itself resembled an abandoned temple. It was decorated from the inside with sculptured figures of plaster. This magnificent hand-made design was complemented by natural decorations: the tomb was located among stalactites and stalagmites. The floor was a stone slab with perfectly preserved relief images.
Already in the first minutes of his examination, Rus came to the conclusion that the crypt, nine meters long, four meters wide, seven meters high, was a burial, which could be appropriately called a unique collection of ancient symbols.
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Wherever you look - maize
One part of the symbols was a series of hieroglyphic signs stretching on the side faces of the plate, including several dates dating back to the 7th century according to the Mayan calendar.
Another part of them depicted a symbolic scene located on a flat surface of the slab. An ancient master's chisel has captured a terrible mask reminiscent of destruction.
Why did you need to frighten everyone who saw the mask of an unknown deity? First, it was a tried-and-true measure against marauders who had to be kept from plundering the royal burial ground. Secondly, it was a tribute to the mythology of the Indian peoples of pre-Columbian Mexico: a deity in the guise of a monster eating living things was a symbol of death. And as a counterweight to it? symbols of birth and life (corn and a flower, or a corncob).
The mask also carried other subjects. For example, a young man sitting on it, whose body is entwined with a fantastic plant; a cruciform object that personified the ancient Maya "tree of life"? a stylized sprout of the same maize; the body of a two-headed snake wriggling on the crossbar; little men in masks of the rain god; the sacred bird quetzal sitting at the top of the "cross". There were also signs symbolizing water, and two small shields depicting the sun god.
After studying all the sources at his disposal, Rus proposed the following interpretation of the find. The young man sitting on the mask of a monster probably simultaneously personifies both a person who is destined to one day return to the bosom of the earth, and maize, whose grain (in order to germinate) must first be lowered into the ground. Does the "cross" also symbolize maize? a plant that appears on earth with the help of man and nature to serve then … food for people. With the thought of the annual revival of maize, the idea of the resurrection of man was introduced into the mind of the Maya.
A long stone pipe in the form of a snake rising from the sarcophagus, ending in the central room of the temple, Rus called the "channel for the soul", intended for spiritual communication of priests and living members of the reigning family on the one hand and with departed ancestors on the other.
Other versions of decryption
Erich von Däniken, a staunch defender of the idea of communication between earthlings and aliens, otherwise interpreted the plots found in the crypt. The relief, he is convinced, depicts the god Kukumats. Daniken also saw the rocket and flames emanating from it, many devices and other images from the high-tech sphere so much desired by his gaze.
The ancient American experts Linda Schele and David Fraidel understood the symbolism in their own way. They came to the conclusion that the craftsmen who made the lid wanted to show the ruler at the trunk of the "tree of worlds descending into the mouth of the underworld."
Schele and Fraidel claimed that on the lid of the sarcophagus, the Mayan king's journey to Xibalba, to the "place of fear", was conveyed.
However, the "place of fear" is not necessarily located in the underworld, but, it is possible, somewhere in the vastness of the Milky Way, which held a special place in the Maya worldview. Why Pakal's soul could need such a difficult journey to the "place of fear" remains unclear.
Source: Secrets of the XX century. Tamara KISELEVA
