A publication of the Archaeological Institute of America The Man
Under the Jaguar Mountain Volume 62 Number 5, September/October
2009 A new royal Maya tomb emerges from the tunnels beneath
Copán's Acropolis The kings of Copán built their temples one on
top of the other, leaving parts of the old buildings inside the
new structures. For 20 years, archaeologist Ricardo Agurcia has
tunneled into these temples, where he recently discovered a
king's tomb. (Ken Garrett) The Maya kings of Copán were not
interested in moving mountains. They preferred to build their
own, like the pyramid now known as Temple 16. Rising 100 feet
above the city's Great Plaza, it is the highest point among a
group of holy buildings that archaeologists have dubbed "the
Acropolis." Inside an excavation tunnel deep beneath the
pyramid's surface, the face of the sun-king scowls at me from
the wall of his temple. The city's ancient rulers built their
temples--one on top of the next--to suit the needs of the
moment. The moment I am visiting occu