Giant Maya Frieze found in Holmul – Guatemala

National Geographic announced the finding of a giant Maya frieze yesterday. The frieze, that is unique in size and quality was found in Holmul in Guatemala. Archaeologists estimate that the age of this artwork is about 1500 years old. – 2013-08-07

Holmul is a Maya site in the north east of Guatemala near the border to Belize, in the Guatemalan Petén region. It’s named like the river that traverses the region before it crosses the border to Belize to flow into the Caribbean sea. Holmul was inhabited between 600BC and 800 AD. Several buildings including temples and pyramids were constructed during its life time.

Archaeologist in front of Maya Frieze – Holmul – Source: Nationa Geographic

The Holmul-Style

A special style of ceramics work, the Holmul-Style was named after Holmul, well described in the article The Holmul-Dancer of Dorie Reents-Buffet .

Holmul Style – Ceramics example. Source: Mayaarchaeology.org

The Maya Frieze

The maya frieze has a length of 8 m and a height of 2 m. It shows human figures surrounded by mythological symbols. Archaeologists think, that tit shows a ruler.

The maya frieze – Holmul – Source: National Geographic

The excavation work of the maya frieze was performed by the archaeologist Franciso Estrada-Belli and his team. Currently the frieze is not open to the public.

The original article about the maya frieze of National Geographics can be found here <<<<