Archaeologists have discovered a rare stone altar during excavations in northern Guatemala, which belonged to the ancient Maya. The artifact bears a text that tells about the policy of the rulers of the Kanul kingdom in the middle of the 6th century. This was announced in a press release on Phys.org.
The altar was found in the jungle, in the ruins of the temple of the ancient Mayan city of La Corona, discovered in 1996. The slab, made of limestone, measures 1.46 x 1.2 meters and weighs over a ton. A sample of Mayan hieroglyphic writing is dated May 12, 544. The text tells about the previously unknown ruler of the Kanul kingdom named Chak-Tuk-Ich'aak, whose residence was in La Corona.
According to scientists, the find indicates that the dynasty of the Kanul rulers carried out a successful expansion into the lands that belonged to the Mutul kingdom. They defeated their rivals in 562, allowing them to rule unhindered in the Mayan lowlands (southeastern Mesoamerica) for two centuries.