Portal to mythical Mayan underworld found in Mexico

[Judi Lynn]

Portal to mythical Mayan underworld found in Mexico
By Miguel Angel Gutierrez Reuters
Published: August 15, 2008

MEXICO CITY: Mexican archaeologists have discovered a maze of stone temples in underground caves, some submerged in water and containing human bones, which ancient Mayans believed was a portal where dead souls entered the underworld.

Clad in scuba gear and edging through narrow tunnels, researchers discovered the stone ruins of eleven sacred temples and what could be the remains of human sacrifices at the site in the Yucatan Peninsula.

Achaeologists say Mayans believed the underground complex of water-filled caves leading into dry chambers -- including an underground road stretching some 330 feet -- was the path to a mythical underworld, known as Xibalba.

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Different Mayan groups who inhabited southern Mexico and northern Guatemala and Belize had their own entrances to the underworld which archaeologists have discovered at other sites, almost always in cave systems buried deep in the jungle.

More:
http://www.iht.com/articles/reuters/2008/08/15/america/OUKWD-UK-MEXICO-MAYANS.php