Cave of relics found under Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza

Archaeologists have discovered a cave filled with hundreds of “incredible” untouched artefacts beneath the ruins of a Mayan city.

Archaeologists have discovered a cave filled with hundreds of artefacts beneath the ruins of the Mayan city of Chichen Itza in Mexico.

The lead researcher on the project called the find “incredible” in a press conference earlier this week. The massive cave is a “scientific treasure,” Mexican archaeologist Guillermo de Anda said.

He said it could help scientists better understand the origins, lives and beliefs of the residents of Chichen Itza, a stunning city of stone in the Yucatán peninsula that was founded sometime around 750AD.

The cave was found about two kilometres from the Temple of Kukulcan, the giant stepped pyramid that dominates the centre of Chichen Itza.

It sits about 24 meters underground, and contains multiple chambers connected by narrow passages — often so narrow that researchers had to crawl or drag themselves through them, De Anda said.

His team has explored about 460 meters of the cave so far, and does not know how far it stretches, he added.

People visit the Kukulcan Pyramid at the Mayan archaeological site of Chichen Itza in Yucatán State, Mexico. Picture: Daniel Slim

Mexican archaeologist Guillermo de Anda inside the Balamku Cave in the archaeological site of Chichen Itza, Mexico. Picture: Karla Ortega

pre-Columbian artefacts sit in a cave at the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza. Picture: Karla Ortega

Mexican archaeologists say they have found a cave at the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza with offerings of about 200 ceramic vessels in nearly untouched condition. Picture: Karla Ortega

The relics found include seven incense burners shaped like the Mayan rain god Chaac, which researchers believe were offerings meant to bring rain.

De Anda said locals had actually discovered the cave more than 50 years ago. But the archaeologist sent to explore the site at the time by the National Institute of Anthropology and History decided for unknown reasons to seal the entrance with stones, and filed only a brief report.

De Anda had seen the report, but did not give it much thought — until he happened upon the entrance to the cave last year while exploring another site nearby.

“What we found there was incredible, and completely untouched,” he said. The residents of Chichen Itza probably considered the cave “the bowels of the gods,” he added.

Mexican archaeologist Guillermo de Anda inside the Balamku Cave in the archaeological site of Chichen Itza, Mexico. Picture: Karla Ortega

Researchers described the find as "incredible." Picture: Karla Ortega

His team believes the largest incense burners date from around 700 to 1000AD. The indigenous Mayas who inhabit the area today warned his team that a venomous coral snake guarded the site.

And researchers did in fact find just such a specimen, which blocked their access to the cave for four days, De Anda said.

At locals’ behest, they performed a six-hour purification ritual before entering the cave.

De Anda’s team plans to continue exploring the cave. Rather than remove the artefacts they find, they will study them on site, he said.