One of the most remarkable of the _chultuns_ found in this area is
situated at San Andres, within a mile of the village of Corozal.
It was accidentally found by some coolies in digging marl, and as,
unfortunately, the entire roof of the larger chamber and a considerable
part of that of the smaller had caved in, it was impossible to
discover how it had been entered from outside, as no trace of steps
remained. A ground plan of this _chultun_ is shown in figure 27. The
small chamber, A, is 8 feet long, 7 feet broad, and 5 feet 6 inches
high in the center; it is cut out of solid rock. The large chamber
(C) is 15 feet in diameter, but as nearly the entire roof has fallen
in, it is impossible to estimate its exact height. The chambers are
partially separated by a wall (B) built of rough blocks of stone and
tough mortar, which has been partly broken down. In the side of the
small chamber, opposite the wall, are three oblong shafts (D, D, D,
fig. 27) cut into the rock, by the side of the chamber wall, which is
here nearly perpendicular. Each of these is about 1 foot in depth by 8
to 9 inches in breadth, and is separated from the chamber by a single
row of bricks (E, E, E, fig. 27) mortared together, reaching from
the roof to the floor, so that there is no communication between the
shafts and the chamber. Each shaft opened originally on the surface of
the ground, but the openings had become blocked by vegetable refuse
from the surrounding bush. The bricks which fill in one side of each
shaft are of two kinds. The first, by far the more numerous, are made
of sun-dried clay, yellowish in color, and very friable: they contain
considerable powdered marl. They measure 8 by 4 by 2-3/4 inches. The
bricks of the second kind also are made of clay, mixed with many
pebbles; they have been fired, are of a reddish color, far harder and
tougher than the first variety; they measure 8 by 4 by 2-1/4 inches.
Nothing was found in either chamber except a few potsherds of various
kinds.
[Illustration: FIG. 27.--Ground plan of chultun.]
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