What did the interior of a Mexican/Mayan pyramid look like? How did it differ from the inside of an Egyptian pyramid?
   Peter, Web Post

Dr. dig responds:

The nine-tiered Mayan temple pyramid of Pacal at Palenque was believed to be completely solid. Then, in the 1940s, Mexican archaeologist Alberto Ruz Lhuillier discovered a removable limestone slab in the floor of the temple on top of the pyramid. Lifting up the slab, he discovered a blocked stairway which, when cleared, led down to an impressive triangular slab. Here were found the bones of Pacal's young attendants. Behind the slab was the burial chamber of Pacal. The king lay in a limestone sarcophagus and wore a lifelike jade mask. This pyramid may be compared with the Egyptian Great Pyramid of Giza, which contained a curious underground chamber (the so-called Subterranean Chamber‚) plus two chambers in the body of the masonry. The Queen's Chamber has an unidentified purpose; the King's Chambe‚ held the sarcophagus of King Khufu, who is also known as Cheops.