Texas archaeologists discover the tomb of the ancient king in Belize after 40 years

An archaeologist’s archaeologist couple recently found the former tomb of a legendary king in Central America – a feat that has been over 40 years old.

Arlen Chase and Diane Chase, two professors from the University of Houston, discovered the tomb of the 4th century on the archaeological site of Caracol in Belize. The university shared discovery on July 10. (See the video at the top of this article.)

Caracol was a large Maya city created in the 300 AD, the tomb belonged to Te ‘K’ab Chaak, the first sovereign of the city and the founder of his royal dynasty – and it is the first confirmed royal tomb found on the site.

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“Now in ruins, this metropolis was a major political player in the history of Maya, dominating the southern part of the Yucatan peninsula from 560 to 680 AD before its abandonment of 900 AD,” said Houston University in its press release.

The tomb of Teʼ Kʼab Chaak was filled with treasures, including 11 pottery ships and carved bone tubes. The excavators also found a mosaic death mask in jadeite, as well as jewelry made from the same type of precious stone.

Arlen and Diane Chase, shown on the right, carried out excavations in Caracol, shown on the left, in Belize for four decades. (Caracol Archaeological Project; University of Houston)

The prosecution is the main researchers of Caracol, and the latter search is only one of the many people.

Their son, Adrian, is also an archaeologist and discovered the decentralized water system of Caracol.

“The true value of the materials is in what they can tell us about the ancient culture.”

Judging by the remains of the sovereign, the prosecution also found that Te ‘K’ab Chaak had 5’7 of 5’7 and died at an advanced age. He also had no remaining teeth.

Addressing Fox News Digital, Arlen Chase qualified the artifacts recently unearthed as “invaluable prices”.

The tomb of Teʼ Kʼab Chaak included jewelry in jadeite, illustrated on the right, as well as elaborate pottery. (Caracol Archaeological Project; University of Houston)

“Professional archaeologists will not put any value in dollars on the elements they dig up … That said, the true value of the materials is what they can tell us about the ancient culture,” described the expert.

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“In this case, most of the individual artefacts are unique, but together, they tell not only a story about the individual who formerly owned them, but also allow us to provide a date to burial.”

Arlen Chase said that the artifacts date from 350 AD and “include a full range of ship types for this period”, including two of Guatemala Highlands and Pacific Ocean shells.

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These two types of treasures, he noted, were the “result of long-distance trade”.

Arlen Chase also confirmed that archaeologists have identified the burial “based on the size of his room, the presence of mosaic death mask in jadeite and earnings, and all that is covered with Cinnabar”.

The artifacts of the tomb, in particular ceramics, show commercial connections with center of Mexico and Pacific. (Caracol Archaeological Project; University of Houston)

Diane Chase told Fox News Digital that ceramic vessels in particular have really shown the status and richness of Teʼ Kʼab Chaak.

“The two spondylus shells of the Pacific near his head, the jadeite earring, the tubular jaden sculpted pearls and the mosaic jadeite death mask also show its ability to obtain long-distance prestige objects,” she noted.

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A car trip between Teotihuacan and Caracol would take more than 11 p.m. today. Ancient people should have walked at least 153 days to finish the trip, which makes burial offers particularly special.

By searching the grave, Diane Chase, shown on the left, and her team discovered the remains of a death mask in Jadéite, on the right. It has now been rebuilt. (Caracol Archaeological Project; University of Houston)

Above all, Diane Chase noted that finding the burial of a manager is “extremely unusual and important”.

She said, “This is the first we discovered in the ancient town of Caracol.”

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She added: “Even more important, he is the first sovereign of the Caracol dynasty with around thirty other leaders who follow him (according to the hieroglyphs) before the abandonment of the city.”