From a sacred burial site to a stone panel; what is the connection between these finds at Xunantunich? Well this part 2 story will unravel that link. The panel was found a week ago in two halves. It is only until the archaeologists shifted the halves in a readable position where they able to decipher the message. Courtney Weatherburne has the story:

Hidden beneath the earth, at the foot of the burial site, was the second panel.

The first panel was found last month. While that one was intact.

This recent stone tablet was found in 2 halves. The first half was found last Monday and a date is inscribed on it, which tells us that this panel and the hieroglyphic stairway that it was once a part of, was built in 642 AD. The other 3 glyphs on this half reflect the 3 deities that oversaw the construction of the stairway.

Dr. Jaime Awe- Archaeologist
"What is really amazing about this discovery is that we now have 2 panels from what we believe was a hieroglyphic stairway that was at the site of Caracol and it appears now that this panel which we call panel 4, would have been at the start of the statement that was being made by the hieroglyphic stairway and the first panel was at the end so it’s like having the start and the end of a sentence."

So what is that sentence? What message is behind this panel? Well it’s all exposed on the second half.

Dr. Jaime Awe- Archaeologist
"It says that the statue is no longer at its place of origin, it’s somewhere else, this is where this glyph becomes important, it is the emblem glyph or coat of arms so to speak of the site of Calakmul, Calakmul is a city in Campeche Mexico. Now the question is, what the heck is a glyph that talks about the city of Calakmul doing on this panel, this is where we have to go back to the first panel, the first panel starts to talk about Lady Bat Sek, the mother of Lord Kaan the second, guess where she was born? At Calakmul. She marries Lord Water from Caracol as part of an alliance between Caracol and Calakmul."

So that explains the narrative, but it doesn’t tell us why and how it ended up here at Xunantunich. Dr. Awe says they have come up with a few theories.

Dr. Jaime Awe- Archaeologist
"One group of epigraphers suggest that that these panels were part of this hieroglyphic stairway, commissioned by Lord Kaan the second at the city of caracol , and it talk about the defeat of Naranjo by Caracol. Around 680 AD, Naranjo gets it’s revenge on Caracol and with some allies, very likely Xunantunich, Ukanal go up to beat up on Caracol, rips a part the hieroglyphic stairway, takes some of it to Naranjo and they mount it in no good order because they don’t want people to be able to read it but it gifts sections of it to its allies, 2 of them coming to Xunantunich and a fragment going to Ukanal; that's one hypothesis."

"The other hypothesis, that is supported by David Fidel, Arlen Chase is that, no the hieroglyphic stairway was constructed at Naranjo by Caracol, to say, in your face, I beat you, you know I defeated you in battle, then later when Naranjo frees itself from Caracol’s control, it jumbles the hieroglyphic stairway and it gifts sections to some of its allies."

With these discoveries and interpretations, the broader perspective of the Maya world is illuminated, bringing into focus the alliances between Mayan cities, and even the rivalries that destroy kingdoms.  But there is one more element, one last piece of the puzzle: Why was the panel placed at the burial site of this Maya ruler?

Dr. Jaime Awe- Archaeologist
"Is it possible that that individual may have been the one who participated in the attack and eventual defeat of Caracol by Naranjo was it then purposefully brought here because that is where this person is buried."

While the archaeologists have unearthed all the layers of this discovery and decoded its meaning, they have to run tests to confirm or debunk their hypotheses – a process through which the true mystery of history will be revealed.

Stay tuned tomorrow for the final part of the Xunantunich feature series where we will take you to a sacred Maya scribe room at the magnificent El Castillo structure.