Ancient Glyphs Discovered on Massive Stone Slab Detail Untold Secrets of Mayan City
On the tip of the Yucatan Peninsula once stood the great Mayan city of Cobá. Recently this massive stone slab covered in 123 carved glyphs, each one providing more details about the mysterious lost civilization.
Transcript
00:00On the tip of the Yucatan Peninsula once stood the great Mayan city of Coba, and recently
00:08at that site this massive stone slab covered in 123 carved glyphs was found, each one providing
00:14more details about the mysterious lost civilization.
00:19Archaeologists say part of the slab recounts the founding of a town named Deer Mountain
00:22in the ancient Mayan language on May 12, 569 CE.
00:26Other glyphs describe the gods who founded Coba.
00:29Experts say the ancient city may have been built in 50 BCE and that it was inhabited
00:33by the Mayan people for more than 1,500 years.
00:37They also estimate that as many as 50,000 residents lived there.
00:41Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History has been excavating and restoring
00:45the site, which was only first discovered in the mid-1800s.
00:48The stone slab, which was only previously discovered earlier this year, is huge.
00:53It was found at the bottom of a pool and covers an area 118 square feet.
00:58The glyphs on the slab also indicate some of the city's rulers, many of whom took
01:02on the name of the god Ka'awil.
01:04Experts are still attempting to decipher the glyphs.
01:07However, first they are creating a highly detailed 3D reconstruction to preserve the
01:11rare artifact.