El Salvador's cultural authorities on Tuesday presented new structures and artefacts discovered in the San Andrés archaeological complex, which was inhabited by the Maya in the west of the country.
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Aerial photograph of the area where the discoveries were made
[Credit: Marvin Romero] |
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The staircase has 15 steps and is about six metres high. The research work is part of the San Andrés
and Cara Sucia Archaeological Project [Credit: Marvin Romero] |
"Fourteen steps of a staircase approximately 1.5 metres wide and 6 metres high were discovered" in a pyramidal structure called La Campana, in San Andrés, 32 km west of San Salvador, the Ministry of Culture said in a statement.
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The project is funded by the Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science
and the Mitsubishi Foundation [Credit: Marvin Romero] |
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La Campana is the largest structure of the site, with a platform of 80 by 90 meters
[Credit: Marvin Romero] |
In addition to the staircase, at the foot of La Campana, a glass and a bowl decorated with drawings of animals were unearthed in the middle of seven pieces of slate or smooth rocks placed vertically and forming a circle, in a kind of altar.
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It is estimated that the site may have been built after the eruption of Lake Ilopango in 535 AD
[Credit: Marvin Romero] |
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| The a pyramid 13 metres high and 40 metres in diameter [Credit: Marvin Romero] |
Inside the glass were found two very polished pieces of jade, and one of them was decorated with "two snake heads in opposite directions with their jaws open and their tongues forked", the ministry explained.
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| Spondylus shells [Credit: Ricardo Flores] |
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| A large number of objects were found and are still being sorted [Credit: Ricardo Flores] |
The excavations that led to the discovery of the staircase and the place of offerings were led by Japanese archaeologist Akira Ichikawa, a professor at the Institute of Advanced Studies at the University of Nagoya, in coordination with Salvadoran archaeologists.
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| Bowl of the group copador [Credit: Ricardo Flores] |
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| Some pieces of carved jade found on the site [Credit: Ricardo Flores] |
The San Andrés complex, one of El Salvador's main archaeological sites, covers an area of 38 hectares and includes a monumental area of a Mayan center dating from the Late Classic period (600-900 AD) with an acropolis, several pyramids and other structures.
Source: La Prensa [June 16, 2018]
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