A megalithic block in which images and hieroglyphic texts have been preserved could be the key to discovering the real name of the Mayan city of Ocomtún, discovered by researchers last June.

So named by the Slovenian archaeologist Ivan Šprajc for the numerous cylindrical columns scattered across its surface, Ocomtún could finally reveal its true name. Or at least this is what archaeologists believe.

Thanks to LiDAR, a modern laser scanning technique that makes it possible to create a relief map of any terrain from the air, a team of archaeologists found the whereabouts of an unknown Mayan city in the Balamkú ecological reserve, in the Mexican state of Campeche.

The discovery was made by archaeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico (INAH) and the Research Center of The Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts.

Stone block used as a step found during recent excavations at Ocomtún

Baptized by its discoverers as Ocomtún, a term derived from the Yucatec Mayan language meaning “stone column”, this mysterious Mayan enclave has astounded archaeologists yet again with a remarkable discovery.

Within the ancient settlement, numerous remnants of cylindrical stone columns are scattered, prompting the name association.

The latest find is a substantial stone block measuring 1.82 m in width and 71 cm in length. Adorned with intricate hieroglyphic texts and vivid scenes, this artifact holds the potential to unveil the original name by which the Maya identified their city.

Lord of Maatz

The researcher and epigrapher from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and member of the expedition, Octavio Esparza Olguín, explained that the sculpted monuments found by archaeologists in Ocomtún, mainly cylindrical altars, and stelae, are smooth.

However, when excavating a test pit in the stairway of a building, it was found that the central block of the lower step had been engraved with hieroglyphic scenes and texts that, unfortunately, appear incomplete.

In a more detailed examination of the text, Octavio Esparza has verified that on the left side of the stone monolith appears the image of a captive tied up and face down, of which only the upper part of the body can be seen due to the erosion of the stone.

On the right side is the zoomorphic representation of the word witz, which in Mayan hieroglyphic writing means “magic mountain”.

Both images are accompanied by various bands of hieroglyphic cartouches.

In one of them appears the logogram “ajaw” (“lord”), which alludes to a ruler of the Mayan elite. At the top, you can see two signs that form the word “Maatz”, whose combination could mean “Lord of Maatz”. Was this, perhaps, the name of the city?

Mysterious offerings

The name of this site is not documented, so archaeologists had to investigate its meaning in Mayan words.

They suggest that the word Maatz could actually be the original name of Ocomtún. This stone block could have originally formed part of a monument, such as a stela or lintel, and was later reused as a step, located in a new location.

The practice of relocating monuments was common in the Mayan area, as in the case of those found in Chactún, Cobá, Calakmul, or Tikal. Specifically, the stairs of Los Cautivos, in Dzibanché, or that of El Resbalón, in Quintana Roo.

Archaeologists believe that in late times, ignorance of hieroglyphic writing caused many of these iconographic elements to become part of common spaces or places where some kind of ritual was going to be practiced.

This would explain why it was placed upside down since the block is read in the opposite direction of its position.

The researcher also found it striking to locate various offerings in the place, such as a bone carved in the shape of an eight-pointed star, a bifacial flint point, and various ceramic fragments.

Archaeologists have named it Ocomtún (“stone column” in Yucatec Mayan), after the numerous cylindrical stone columns that have been found scattered throughout the ancient settlement.

The monumental core of Ocomtún, which is believed to have been an important center in the Maya Central Lowlands region during the Classic period (250-1000 AD), covers more than 50 hectares and has large buildings, several with pyramidal structures.

Some of these pyramidal structures are more than 15 meters high, according to one of the archaeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).

Archaeologists suspect that the numerous cylindrical columns must have been part of the entrances to the upper rooms of the buildings.

The southeast of the urban center was made up of three plazas dominated by imposing buildings.

All this central area is surrounded by various courtyard groups. Between the two main squares, there is a complex made up of various low and elongated structures, arranged almost in concentric circles; a ball game is also included.

A causeway connects this area with the northwestern part.

The most voluminous construction of the site is a rectangular acropolis, whose sides measure 80 meters and its height is about 10 m, in its northern part, there is a pyramid that stands 25 m above the natural terrain.

The unexplored area of Ocomtún

The city was located during the first field season of the project ‘Expanding the archaeological panorama of the Mayan Central Lowlands’, approved by the Archeology Council of the INAH, of the Ministry of Culture of the Government of Mexico.

This project was coordinated by an expert from the Research Center of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts. The initiative seeks to explore an extensive area of 3,000 uninhabited sq km, covered by the jungle and practically unknown to archaeology.

This area is located in the central part of the state of Campeche, bordering to the south with the Escárcega-Chetumal highway, to the east with the northern sector of the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, and to the north with the Chenes region.

During May and mid-June 2023, the team focused on the extreme north of that area. In March 2023, that surface was scanned with LiDAR (detection sensors that use airborne lasers), and aerial images of the terrain revealed the presence of archaeological remains.

Numerous concentrations of pre-Hispanic structures were recognized that was later confirmed in field inspections, with peculiarities that contrast with what is known from other parts of the Mayan area.

The sites of the Chenes region are located near Ocomtún, more than 30 kilometers to the northeast, Nadzcaan, 36 kilometers to the southeast, and Chactún, 50 km to the southeast, reported a decade ago by this same project.

The biggest surprise turned out to be the site located on a ‘peninsula’ of high ground, surrounded by extensive wetlands”, he highlights, in whose monumental core they found large buildings with pyramidal structures more than 15 m high.

The archaeologist indicates that the most common types of ceramics that they collected on the surface and in some test pits are from the Late Classic period (600-800 AD). The analysis will give reliable data on the occupation sequences.

Ocomtún underwent alterations years later, in the Terminal Classic period (800-1000 AD).

As can be deduced from constructions with elements extracted from nearby buildings, a reflection of ideological and population changes in times of crisis that, finally, by the 10th century, led to the collapse of the complex sociopolitical organization and drastic demographic decline in the Maya Central Lowlands.

Were also explored structures in the area that extends to the La Rigueña River, with similar characteristics to Ocomtún – with stairways, monolithic columns, and the absence of monuments with inscriptions.

The researchers found several sets of unknown use, similar to the one located in the southeast complex of Ocomtún, which in some cases include the ball game, and in others, central altars.

It is possible that they are markets or spaces for community rituals, but only future research will shed light on the functions of these groups, which represent a regional peculiarity – was pointed out in the INAH note.