Mayan “Highway to Hell” Discovered

Mayan legend, as described in their sacred book named the Popul Vuh—”tells of a tortuous journey through oozing blood, bats, and spiders, that souls had to make in order to reach Xibalba, the underworld”.

In a cave recently found near Mérida, the capital of Yucatán State in Mexico, researchers have discovered a 90-meter paved road that ends at a column standing in front of a body of water. Within the same cave are walled off rooms, an altar and a submerged temple.

Did they build within the cave first, and the legend of Xibalba followed later? Or did the discovery of the cave validate the existing legend? These are questions puzzling researchers. But there is no doubt that these caves, currently full of water, were used for Mayan rituals.

A labyrinth filled with stone temples and pyramids in 14 caves—some underwater—have been uncovered on Mexico's Yucatán Peninsula, archaeologists announced recently.

The discovery has experts wondering whether Maya legend inspired the construction of the underground complex—or vice versa.

According to Maya myth, the souls of the dead had to follow a dog with night vision on a horrific and watery path and endure myriad challenges before they could rest in the afterlife.

In one of the recently found caves, researchers discovered a nearly 300-foot (90-meter) concrete road that ends at a column standing in front of a body of water.

"We have this pattern now of finding temples close to the water—or under the water, in this most recent case," said Guillermo de Anda, lead investigator at the research sites.

"These were probably made as part of a very elaborate ritual," de Anda told National Geographic News in August. "Everything is related to death, life, and human sacrifice."

Stretching south from southern Mexico, through Guatemala, and into northern Belize, the Maya culture had its heyday from about A.D. 250 to 900, when the civilization mysteriously collapsed.