At the end of the year, Tomb 10 will reveal to the public the splendor of its murals and architecture

Oaxaca, Oax., After remaining sealed for more than 1,400 years, underground, with extreme climates, humidity and constant earthquakes that shake the region, Tomb 10 of Huitzo, in the Etla Valley, Oaxaca, revealed for the first time the splendor of its majestic architecture and decoration. In an atmosphere of expectation, amazement and respect, The Day He took an exclusive tour to the top of La Cantera hill.

To observe the elements that account for the ancient Zapotec funerary tradition, one must descend 2.45 meters from the current surface of that hill. Archaeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) explained that it is a stepped vault crypt, made with limestone slabs and gray quarry, covered with stucco, which measures 5.55 meters in length, between 1.66 and 2.79 meters wide, and a height that varies from 1.68 to 2.60 meters.

In the funerary chamber “there are murals showing a jaguar, as well as a wonderful pilgrimage story. The tomb is very impressive and will be opened at the end of the year to the public,” especially to students and schools, reported the federal Secretary of Culture, Claudia Curiel de Icaza.

This thousand-year-old tomb, which dates back to the Late Classic period (600-900), “could be key to learning more about the local dynasties, since it must have been destined for the resting place of a prominent person – possibly from one of the neighborhoods of the ancient Zapotec city, settled around the Cerro de la Cantera –, which was visited by later generations,” added the archaeologists responsible for the project.

Access to the funerary site is through a well prepared by INAH specialists where a well-secured metal ladder was placed on the surface with the help of firefighters; This allowed the few guests who accessed last Thursday to descend into that ritual space that remained hidden and in total darkness for more than 14 centuries. The darkness and dim light provided more solemnity to the space, where the smell of humidity, alcohol and sanitizers permeated the environment.

Below, Fanny Magaña Nieto, one of the restorers, waited with lamps in the antechamber for the visitors, where, just a few centimeters from curious eyes, calendar symbols and a fragment of mural painting could be seen. The rest of the images are not yet clearly visible, because they are covered by salts and in a delicate state, which is why specialists are working on their stabilization, conservation and restoration.

The general indication from the experts was not to touch or record video; Latex gloves and face masks were distributed, and the essential sanitation was requested to go down to the venue.

Restaurateur Cristian Hernández Ortega commented: “I am participating in the conservation and restoration, inside and outside the monument; now we are with this sanitization process because when we enter we bring bacteria or any virus; the problem is that the interior is a microclimate, and if we enter and take what we bring, we will contaminate the funerary context. When each person leaves we will sanitize them again due to the particles that may be inside.”

He explained: “the conservation of Tomb 10 has been carried out gradually, and now we have 50 percent of the façade completed, but inside the tomb we need conservation actions. Nothing else has been done, for the moment, the stabilization, but the restoration and consolidation of the mural painting and the flattenings are pending. It is a very delicate and patient job.”

The restorer, who has dedicated herself to stabilizing the figurehead, part of the jambs and the mural painting, recalled that last year, “when I entered the majestic funerary enclosure, from the first step I took it was impressive to be underground and see all those details.

“We are working on all these processes for conservation, but the most harmful thing, among other things, is when people do not respect. That is a big problem, because there are those who want to touch, get close and see what is there. This can affect us.”

Curiel de Icaza reiterated that “it has been a historic moment because after 1,400 years this place opens, which has great importance for the Zapotec culture due to the degree of advancement of civilization; writing and that level of conservation and information makes it one of the most relevant discoveries of the decade. This moment left me speechless, it is a shock, but it should be noted that the work of the community has been essential.”

The story in San Pablo Huitzo began to take shape last year, by specialists from the INAH Oaxaca Center who work at the site. Archaeologists Jorge Bautista Hernández and Gabriela Galicia Moreno located a well that led to a crypt, and after their discovery today they study the ceramics and vessels that were found outside the chamber, as well as the iconographic and epigraphic elements to decipher the meanings of the mask, frieze, jambs and murals. Likewise, physical anthropology studies are carried out on the few bone fragments recovered.

The crypt remained intact, the specialists said, until an anonymous complaint of possible looting allowed its identification and subsequent investigation. “Until now this is all we have because work continues; the recovered objects are being analyzed,” they said.

Due to its characteristics, Tomb 10 of Huitzo is comparable to the nearby Tomb 5 of Cerro de la Campana, in the neighboring municipality of Santiago Suchilquitongo, a site where the delegation led by Curiel de Icaza also attended to supervise the construction of the service unit, bathrooms and offices of that archaeological site.

Tomb 5 was discovered in 1985 and preserves wall paintings in which nearly 60 characters are represented, two masks of the jaguar lineage, 10 jambs with pairs of characters dressed in helmets of the were-jaguar lineage, toponymic and calendrical glyphs, as well as glyphs of owls, bats, jaguars and architectural elements.

The ceramics associated with the burial of said tomb can be dated as contemporary to period III of Monte Albán, so they correspond to the year 550. The specialists explained that the civic administrative center of Cerro de la Campana represented for some centuries the hegemony of power and brought together the Zapotec peoples of the north of the Etla Valley.

The recent discovery in San Pablo Huitzo, told The Day Joel Omar Vázquez Herrera, director of the INAH, “is very relevant, above all, because some time ago in the state of Oaxaca we had not found a tomb with these characteristics since 1985, which was then called Tomb 5, discovered and worked on at the time by Enrique Méndez.”

Now, “with the discovery of Tomb 10, both complement each other and allow us to identify a much broader context, of a much larger city in the Etla Valleys, which is not only reduced to a small archaeological complex, but to a city that at the time was not subdivided as municipal borders.”

That is to say, said the anthropologist, “I am referring to the municipality of Santiago Suchilquitongo, which is where Tomb 5 is located, and San Pablo Huitzo, site of the recently discovered funerary site. From that time we would speak of a city of great relevance for the Valleys of Etla and Oaxaca.”

It is important to note, he continued, “that this new discovery allows us to reconcile two towns that for a long time even had agrarian problems, and now it could be said that each municipality has its own tomb.”

The architectural importance of Tomb 10, said the official, “is monumental and has signs, symbols, meanings and signifiers that will be deciphered in due course.

“Now we are in the stage of epigraphic studies, as well as physical anthropology that allows us to know who was there and what is related to their lineage.”

In this funerary site, Vázquez Herrera explained that “what we have found today is ceramics that give us an account of the period of the tomb, and we found bones that will have to be analyzed with physical anthropology and, surely, we will reconstruct the history of the place.”

He emphasized: “in this Tomb 10 we did not find any type of urn or offering, which is a recurring practice in Mesoamerica, but this was not the case; in the sites where these elements have been found, they undoubtedly allow us to obtain more information.”

Omar Vázquez reaffirmed that at the end of the year it will be possible to visit Tomb 10 of Huitzo, but in a controlled manner. “We are offering a service unit so that visitors can have some rest or more information about the place. Of course we are not talking about a massive opening of the site, but it would be focused on taking it to schools so that children and young people can learn, in an educational way, about a funerary site of great importance.”

Attentive and vigilant, two young people from the community were barely noticeable, who were later found out to be assistants to restaurateur Cristian Hernández Ortega. At the end of the tour, they hurriedly covered up again the discovery considered the most important in a decade. “Here the place is protected with communal patrols and everyone organizes themselves to go around and come check the site; the restaurateur has also taught us a little and we have helped clean with swabs,” commented the brothers.