Ancient findings: A Mayan tomb and how the Egyptians built the Great Pyramid

Earlier this week in Guatemala, archaeologists made an amazing discovery when exploring under an ancient Mayan palace in the Mayan city of El Peru-Waka in the northern part of the country. Meanwhile, archaeologists in Egypt have new evidence that shows how the Great Pyramid of Giza was built.

Finding an ancient Mayan tomb

The team of Guatemalan and American archaeologists made their latest discovery at El Peru-Waka, which they have been excavating since 2003.

This most recent finding was made by burrowing under the ancient city's palace acropolis, where they discovered what is thought to be the oldest royal burial in the city.

Based on the pottery in the tomb, archaeologists estimated that the burial dates back between A.D. 300 and 350. For comparison, the city itself was believed to have been occupied between A.D. 200 and 800. Also in the tomb was a jade mask and bones, all of which was painted a bright red color using cinnabar. There were also a number of ceramic vessels and shells, as well as a carved crocodile pendant.

The archaeologists believe that the tomb most likely belonged to a king due to that red jade mask.

It depicts the ruler as the Maize God with his forehead inscribed with a symbol that means “yellow” and “precious” in the Mayan language. The team suspects that the tomb could be King Te' Chan Ahk's, a Wak dynasty king who ruled in the early fourth century.

Discovering how Giza was built by the Egyptians

Archaeologists working at the Great Pyramid of Giza discovered an ancient papyrus scroll four years ago, that has finally been translated. Along with it were the remains of a boat and a network of waterways at the site. These findings point towards boats being used to transport the rock used to build the pyramid over 4,000 years ago around B.C. 2550.

Pierre Tale was the man who translated the scroll that is thought to be the oldest papyrus ever found, which is central to a documentary on the discovery “Eygpt's Great Pyramid: New Evidence.” The scroll was written by a man named Merer, who commanded 40 elite sailors.

The archaeologists discovered that there were apparently thousands of these trained workers who used boats to transport limestone along canals dug along the Nile River. Limestone rocks would be brought to an inland port, located only a few meters from the base of the pyramid. The central canal basin that served as the inland port has now been outlined by the archaeologists.