Report of the 1998 and 1999 Investigations on the Archaeology and Iconography of the Polychrome Stucco Façade of Structure N10-28, Lamanai, Belize

Research Design and Objectives

This project provides an example of how research designs are constantly modified with each progressive field season. The two weeks of work in 1998 was exploratory, in order to determine the viability of pursuing the project further. It was then decided the project would be worthwhile to pursue, and plans were made to fully analyze and record the collection during the following field season in 1999.  At that time, I was operating under the assumption that the pieces retrieved from the bodega represented virtually all that had been recovered in the field.

A research proposal was submitted to FAMSI for funding to cover a field season of research. The objectives of this research project comprised three areas: (1) to process, conserve, store, and report the collection, (2) to analyze the iconography of the collection, and (3) to conduct small-scale excavations at and around Structure N10-28 to clarify some architectural data.

Excavations at Structure N10-28 would consist of two operations: (1) A trench, approximately four meters long and located at the northeastern corner of the structure, to determine if the north and east sides contained façade sculpture, and (2) removal of at least a meter of plaza core to recover more sculptural pieces. The first ten days of the season, projected to last six weeks, would consist of the excavations at Structure N10-28, described above, with approximately five full workdays devoted to each trench. The following four and a half weeks were to be devoted to the full analysis of the collection.

However, conditions in the field and logistical problems greatly modified the plans for the 1999 season. The original plan of giving each piece a unique artifact number quickly became an awkward and unwieldy problem. In addition, at least eight flour sacks full of stucco were located in the bodega by a colleague. Many nice pieces were found in these bags, and greatly increased the size of the collection to well over a thousand fragments. In addition, several lot numbers of non-stucco artifacts from the 1981 excavations were also located.

Excavations as originally outlined were carried out, with the exception of locating the northeast corner of the structure, which was postponed due to logistical problems. In addition, an architectural field school directed by Drs. Elizabeth Graham and David Pendergast were moved from Structure N10-27 over to N10-28 and N10-15, as these structures provided a better laboratory for addressing specific architectural questions. Concurrently, Claude Belanger, who worked at Lamanai during the original ROM project and who was assisting with the field school, began operations that eventually removed approximately 100 tons of core from the plaza, exposing large quantities of stucco and other artifacts. This unexpected, but highly appreciated, extension of the project, as well as my original excavations, have recovered another thousand fragments as well as a large volume of ceramics and other artifacts.

With these changes and extensions to the original plans, the scope of the project has increased. It will take at least two more field seasons to fully analyze and record the stucco fragments, as well as to analyze the ceramics and other artifacts. In addition, I have every reason to believe there are more pieces of the façade on the east side of the structure, and at some point excavations in this area would be beneficial not just for more sculptural pieces but for architectural data as well.

In addition to the iconography, it has been posited that this structure may have been the Popol Na of Lamanai, based on a number of reasons which will be more fully discussed. In retrospect, the events of this past field season have been enlightening and optimistic, enabling me to work out my methodology and determine the scope of work for the upcoming field seasons. The first full season of fieldwork on the stucco façade of Structure N10-28 at Lamanai is the subject of this report, various aspects of which are detailed in the following sections.

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