About 300 yards to the east of the mound three circular openings were
found (see AAA, fig. 26) leading into a large irregular natural cavity
(see C, fig. 26) formed in the limestone (see BB, fig. 26). Each of
these openings was about 2 feet in diameter, and close to one of them
a circular slab of stone, 6 inches in thickness, and of about the same
diameter as the opening, was found, which had probably been used as
a cover for the latter. This _chultun_, unlike the first one, was of
purely natural formation; the walls, which were rough and irregular,
showed no signs of tool marks. The chamber varied in height from 8 to
9 feet beneath the openings, where it was highest, to 2 to 3 feet at
the sides. There was a considerable accumulation of earth upon the
floor (see DD, fig. 26), which had evidently fallen and been blown in,
as it was collected in two heaps beneath the openings. There were no
stone steps leading down into this _chultun_, and access must have been
gained to the interior by means of wooden ladders, which had long since
disappeared. Numbers of potsherds, shells, pieces of charcoal, clay
beads, and fragments of flint and obsidian implements were found upon
the floor. Several skeletons of small mammals were also found among the
earth, but these creatures had probably fallen in after the _chultun_
ceased to be used, and had been unable to get out.
At a distance of less than half a mile from the last-mentioned
_chultun_ another was discovered under somewhat curious circumstances.
A large flat mound was completely removed for the sake of the stone and
limestone dust which it contained, to be used in repairing the Corozal
streets. About the center of the mound, at the ground level, a heavy
circular flag of limestone, 2 feet 4 inches in diameter, was brought
to light. On removing this it was found to cover a round well-like
opening, which expanded below into a small _chultun_, 12 feet long by
9 feet in greatest diameter. The chamber was egg-shaped and showed no
signs of having ever been stucco-covered. From the opening a short
flight of steps, cut in the rock, led to the bottom of the _chultun_.
Nothing was found in this _chultun_ with the exception of two small
bowls of rather coarse earthenware, painted red and polished; one
almost globular in shape, 6 inches in diameter; the other circular,
flat-bottomed, 3-1/2 inches in height. The mound which covered this
_chultun_ appeared to have been one of the commonest kind of burial
mounds. At its summit fragments of a rude circular earthenware pot were
found, and near its center fragments of human bones, together with
three flint hammerstones and two small round vessels, one of light
yellow, the other of yellowish-red, pottery.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account