 |
FAMSI © 2001: Francisco Estrada-Belli (Boston U./ now Vanderbilt University) |
|
Archaeological Investigations at Holmul, Guatemala Mapping the Site The site center of Holmul is located on a L-shaped ridge running NW-SE slightly above the 180 m elevation. A GPS reading from the tallest structure in the Main Plaza, Building D of Group I, produced the following UTM coordinates: 258368 E, 1915384 N, or longitude 89°:16":23" W, latitude 17°:18":43" N in geographic coordinates. The site’s tallest buildings were also spotted on a 1989 Landsat 5 image and the location verified in the field at a 1.5 km distance from the Holmul stream and approximately 3 km west/north west of the camp clearing (see Figure 1). Interestingly, the previous known location of the Holmul site, available from the "Nakum" topographic sheet of the Guatemalan "Instituto Geografico Nacional", appears to be about 2 km SE of its actual location and therefore needs to be discarded, or corrected. The site location is an especially important issue in light of the existing "Parque Arqueologico" reserve which includes a 3x3 km area around the site but presently does not include the main plaza itself. Furthermore, the authorities have been informed of the correct location of the site so that logging concessions that are granted in the area may not erroneously include the immediate area of the archaeological site. The ridge on which the site is located is situated on top of the watershed divide of a large limestone peninsula trending NE-SW, surrounded by extensive bajo areas to the west, south and east (Figure 2). To the west, is a massive escarpment ridge which runs from the Yaxhá area to the Río Hondo area of NW Belize dividing the watershed of the north-central Petén upland region from the rest of the Eastern Lowlands. From a cursory observation of the topography surrounding Holmul it would appear that ancient as well as modern communication to the south and west would be impeded by the wetlands, while to the north it would be favored by the karstic uplands. However, any hypothesis linking Holmul with polities to the north, such as Xultún and/or Xmakabatún, 26 km to the north, must be contrasted with existing references in Holmul ceramic and architectural styles and textual evidence to the southern Late Classic kingdom of Naranjo (Stuart, 1988), 20 km to the south. Furthermore, the Holmul river course might be considered a communication route between Maya cities, and it may have provided a viable path through bajos and karst between Holmul, Naranjo and Nakum. As a first step of the site mapping, a baseline was set from a datum stake (6000,6000) located near the SW corner of Group I. From that point, 2 m wide brechas were cut in the four cardinal directions using an EDM Sokkia total station. The east, north and south brechas were extended to a maximum distance of up to 200 m while the western brechas was carried out to the 1 km marker from the datum to accommodate the mapping of the western transect (see Western Transect). The site inventory nomenclature used in this report follows Merwin’s designations of numbers for groups (acropolis) and of letters for individual structures, whenever those are available from the Merwin and Vaillant publication (1932). Structures not reported by Merwin are assigned new structure ID numbers, not letters. Stelae and altars are identified by ID numbers in separate orders (i.e. Stela 1, Altar 1). The central area mapped in 2000 comprised three main acropolis-groups separated by plazas and causeways occupying an overall area of 14 hectares on the broad main hill (Figure 3). The focal point of the ceremonial core is situated in the Main Plaza which measures 0.9 hectares in area, is rectangular in shape and is bound to the north by the Group I acropolis, to the south by the Group III elevated courts and to the east by the tall Ruin X pyramid. Ruin X. This is a 12.5 m high steep-sided pyramid which supports two staggered vaulted buildings on its summit. The structure was described and excavated by Merwin (Merwin and Vaillant 1932: 50-53). Originally it comprised a vaulted room with a long, narrow E-W plan with a main doorway to the east and three doors to the west. In this room, three burials were placed prior to the doorway being sealed by a thick wall. In front of this eastern wall, a new "adosada" structure was built with three doorways opening to the east. In 2000, two large looters’ tunnels were found to be cut at the base of the pyramid on the east and west sides. On the west side of Ruin X, and in axial position, a stela was found, Stela 7, lying on its back side (Figure 4, shown below). The stela measures approximately 0.8×3 meters with fairly flat sides. No carving was noticeable on the three visible sides. The stela’s side facing the ground remains to be inspected for possible carving. It also remains to be determined whether the current location of the stela is in situ.
Near the NW corner of Ruin X was another partial monument, Stela 6. This monument appears to be the lower half of a stela and is lying flat. No signs were observed of carving or of the stela’s in situ location. To the east of Ruin X is the East plaza. This almost squared plaza measures 0.8 hectares and is bound on the eastern side by a long range building (str. 7), on the northern side by a short pyramid (str. 5), and is open to the south. Structure 7 measures 79 m in length, 13 m in width at the base and is about 4 m high. The center of this structure is slightly raised but it does not appear to have supported a vaulted building. It is in axial alignment with the main doorway of Ruin X room 2 (east-facing). Between Ruin X and str. 7, in axial alignment with these, and roughly at the center of the east plaza are Stela 1 and Altar 1. Stela 1 is standing apparently in situ with its base set into the plaza floor. It is currently wrapped by a strangler tree which also covers most of Altar 1 within its buttresses (Figure 5). The stela is roughly carved with a rounded tip and very uneven, plain sides. Merwin’s measurements for Stela 1 are 3.7 m in height and 1.75 m wide. Altar 1 is located in front of the west face of Stela 1 and appears to be fragmentary. Merwin apparently found it intact and that it was 5’ 4" in diameter and 1’ thick. A test excavation by Claudia Quintanilla in front of Stela 1, centered upon the altar’s main fragment, found that the latter had been repositioned in front of the stela on top of loose fill and humus. Moreover, Claudia found that looters had cut the altar fragment off from the rest of the altar which is still under the tree (in original location) and dug a pit into the two latest plaza floors underneath the altar to a depth of 0.8 m (Figure 6, shown below).
In front of str. 5, on the north end of the east plaza are Stela 2 and Altar 2 (Figure 7, shown below). These monuments are both fragmentary, lying on their sides and partially covered by a tree’s buttress. The stela’s largest fragment measures about 2 m in length and has fallen away from the altar, on its back. Test pit 2 by Alexander Urizar in this location has found that a pit had been cut by looters underneath Altar 2, cutting away and removing half of the altar from its original location and cutting through at least 3 plaza floors underneath the altar. The main fragment of the altar and the nearby stela butt appeared to be inserted into the latest plaza floor.
|
||
|
Text links to all pages at this site are available at the FAMSI INDEX |
||
