The death mask of the most famous ancient Maya king
When archaeologists managed to slide the lid off a sarcophagus and look inside, they found Pakal’s body covered in jade ornaments. A jade mask covered Pakal’s face. And all of these helped to transform him into the Maize God!
Discovering an ancient Maya king’s tomb at Palenque
Deep in the thick rainforest of Chiapas, Mexico, archaeologist Alberto Ruz Lhuillier would stumble upon one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of the twentieth while digging at the ancient Maya site of Palenque: the tomb and sarcophagus of the ruler K’inich Janaab’ Pakal.