Balamka, also known as the "Jaguar God Cave", was first discovered in 1966, but almost immediately the entrance to it was sealed by order of the authorities. More than half a century later, old-timers showed archaeologists its location, and the very first finds made inside indicate that the history of the famous ancient city of Chichen Itza will have to be rewritten. And with it the history of the decline of the Mayan civilization.
Around 800 AD, with the beginning of the Mayan Decline Classics, the inhabitants of the Yucatan Peninsula faced a monstrous drought. In search of moisture, they began to populate cenotes - natural branched cave systems flowed by groundwater. There the Maya found not only water, but also a new hope, a new faith. And more than 200 artifacts found "on the doorstep" of Balamku confirm this guess.
It is extremely difficult to explore the cave, there are few cleared places and here and there you have to crawl along passages only 40 cm high. Plus snakes and insects, plus a lack of air - archaeologists are delighted with such conditions. No one complains, on the contrary, since Balamka is an extremely inhospitable and inaccessible place, the cave has not been plundered over the past 1200 years. And thanks to this, many extremely curious artifacts have been preserved here.
Unique ceramic vessels with the iconography of Tlaloc, the god of water and fertility, have already been found here. There are remnants of seeds, bones and traces of ancient food. Lots of hand tools and household items, incense stands and pictures on the walls. The cave goes far into the depths of the earth, and there is a possibility that it is associated with the pyramid of El Castillo, it is also the Temple of Kukulkan, 3 km from here. The study of this fantastic find is just beginning!
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