A LOST CITY

Hokitika Guardian, 26 November 1928, Page 7

A LOST CITY

AFTER 1500 VICARS

BRITISH EXPEDITION'S GREAT FIND.

By nit . THOMAS GANN, the artliiicolonist ami explorer ami leader of tlio British Museum expeditioi. to Central America, which has just returned to '.England.

The British Museum expedition, which returned recently from Central America., had an exceptionally interesting and successful field season in the south-west of British Honduras, a region hardly explored hitherto. In the previous year the existence of ruins in this locality had been reported by a. mahogany cutter, searching for those tree's in the forest, and the object of the members of the expedition, which consisted of Captain Griming, Mr. Clivc-S-mith, and myself, was to explore and report upon this discover v.

We found a complete ruined Maya city, lost for 15 centuries in the depth of the virgin bush which covers this part of Central America, and unvisited and unknown except perhaps to a few wandering Indian hunters who would pass it without interest, not realising that if was the work of thief great ancestors of 50 generations ago. We named it “Clumuicha,” of “between the waters,” as it is in the fork formed by two streams.

SEC!IFT OF HIEROGLYPHICS

The city was divided into a civil and religious centre. Of the latter tlio plaza, surrounded by (i stone-faced pyramids upon which originally stood the temples, was Hie centre. AY ithin it were found no .fewer than 20 groat monoliths, upon which we deciphered 12 dates ranging from a.d. 314,t0 471. Some of these monuments contained over 100 hieroglyphics, among the longest inscriptions ever found in the Maya area. These no doubt gave a complete history of the events which occurred in the city during the 20-vear periods they were put up to commemorate. Unfortunately, though wo can decipher to a day the dates on the monuments, the. other hieroglyphics. recording historical events, are as yet a. sealed hook to us. The civil centre consisted of great ranges of terraces 250 ft, high, artificallv constructed, and walled with large blocks of stone. They were cut along tin* sides of tin* chains o| bills which occupy both banks of the I’usiL 1 1 a Biver.

BRIDGE STILL STANDING

Connecting these two sots of residential terraces was a bridge across the river, the only aboriginal structure oi the kind known on the Ameican Continent.

It consists of two stone abutments 15ft, high with pa.ved spill ways beside each to carry off the flood water, ft has withstood for 15 centuries the tremendous floods which occur in this river during the rainy season, when great logs com© hurling down the swollen stream like battering rams, and is still in almost as good a State of preservation as when it was first constructed, a stupendous task in engineering for a people acquainted only with stone implements. It is doubtful whether any modern bridge would lie in an equally good state of preservation if unrepaired for 1,500 years.

Another extremely important discovery was a cave at tho base of one of (he residential terraces, which had evidently been used as a rubbish depository during the life of the city. a. floor was covered with an earth layer 6ft. deep, full of broken fragments ot pottery, flint, and obsidian implements.

Somo of the potsherds are exquisitely coloured in red, green, yellow, black and white. and ornamented with human figures and hieroglyphic inscription,s and it is hoped next year to obtain from this cave, rubbish heap a .perfect picture of the gradual evolution of culture in the city from the earliest to the latest period. Snell a stratigraphic record has never before been obtained in the Alava area.

We dug out a number of burial mounds, in one of which an Indian found a beautifully sculptured nearly life-size head. It was that of an old man with a diabolical expression, large flat nose immense mouth and lips, and slanting eyes. Instead of delivering this up he took it home with him. probably with the idea of stealing it. That night there occurred a terrific shock of earthquake. Xext morning our Indian labourers turned up in front of the shack when we were having early coflee. Their spokesman, an evil-faced old man. who had found the head, produced it from his shot-bag dumped it on the table announced that they were not going to work any more, and demanded their wages. Had they left us we should have been in an extremely awkward position, do? or tod in the middle ef the bush with no carriers to take out our bagfrage. I. tried persuasion, but with no effect. Finally T told them that if they deserted they would got no back pay. This gave them pause, and alter conferring together they decided not to down tools.

Later. T discovered the cause of the strike. T.t appeared they were all aroused in the early hours of the morn ing by the quake. To them, lying in their hammocks shivering with fear, the finder of the head related his talo. In the night lie slid, the head had erected itself and spoken to him as follows:

You are all committing a terrible crime in digging up the graves of your ancestors, and to-morrow you must leave work and never return. If you do not you shall die within the year. The old gods have no power over, the Christians, who worship a new God of their own, hut they have complete power over you, whose ancestors worsliippeed them. EMPIRE’S ONLY MAYA CITY. The finding of this compact little city with its many unique features a bridge 30 feet wide over the river, cave ruli'iisli heaps from which the art history of the city may be reconstructed over a period of many centuries, and a profusion of dated monoliths is one of the most important discoveries in American archaeology during recent years.

\ im<st important point about the discovery is that Clmmiicha is the only known ancient Maya city in the British Empire. The British Museum will continue the work of exploration next year.