Then and Now: El Castillo's Unbelievable Rebirth
By Elisabeth Sherman on April 27, 2016 in Ancient history, Mexico, Photography, and Then and now
El Castillo, 1892. (See present-day photo below.) Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
Today, the majestic El Castillo temple looms proudly over the remains of the ancient Mayan city of Chichen Itza. But not all that long ago, it looked as if those historic remains would never live to see the 21st century at all.
In 1913, archaeologist Sylvanus Morley proposed an expedition to the Yucatan peninsula in order to unearth Chichen Itza, then in shambles. Ten years later, after being delayed by the Mexican Revolution, Morley was finally able to begin excavating this incredible site.
By the time Morley and his team arrived in the Yucatan in 1923, El Castillo had fallen into ruin, barely visible through the vegetation that had taken over its outer structure.
This was hardly surprising, given the estimates that say the structure was built between 800 and 900 AD on the foundations of earlier temples and had been abandoned since the 15th century.
With centuries of wear and tear to fight against, Morley and company began restoring El Castillo — known as the Temple of Kukulcan to the Mayans, named for their feathered serpent god.
It took almost ten more years to get inside El Castillo, where the team found inner chambers containing statues inlaid with mother-of-pearl, boxes filled with turquoise, and a jaguar made almost entirely from jade.
Since those early efforts, Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History spearheads all efforts to preserve El Castillo and all of Chichen Itza's stunning remains, which have been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site.
However, the fact that El Castillo and Chichen Itza were restored so well may now be hurting them. According to UNESCO, the site's now stunning remains are vulnerable because of intense tourism. An estimated 3,500 people visit Chichen Itza everyday, which necessitates constant maintenance.
Unfortunately, according to UNESCO, a lack of the personnel needed to care for Chichen Itza means that "no emergency plan exists for the site and there is no long term monitoring of the state of conservation."
But for now at least we can enjoy one of the most spectacular rebirths of all the world's ancient monuments:
El Castillo, 2009. Image Source: Wikimedia Commons
Even Google Says Live In Peace Love.
Deepak Punjabi
Baguio City
Chichen-itza - Climb up Down, Best view from the top of the Pyramid El Castillo
We visited Chichen-itza while we were in Cancun and videotaped the people climbing up and down the most popular ancient Mayan pyramid in Mexico, the Kukulkan temple.
Click here to watch this video
http://www.nidokidos.org/threads/250622
Posted by: Deepak Punjabi <indigoblue2005@yahoo.com>
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