Archaeologists have unearthed an ancient palace in Mexico, which they believe was part of the Mayan civilisation more than 1,000 years ago.
The Kulubá site was identified as a palace after workers uncovered the base, staircases and a crossing, which show the building was around 55 metres long, 15 metres wide, and 6 metres tall.
The researchers from Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) believe the palace was an “enclave” of the famous Mayan ruins of Chichén Itzá, in the Yucatan province.
“It was in the Terminal Classic period when Chichén Itzá, upon becoming a prominent metropolis in the northeast of the present Yucatán, extended its influence over sites such as Kulubá,” said archaeologist Alfredo Barrera Rubio
“From the data we have and ceramic materials of the Chichén and obsidian type from the same sources that provided this Mayan city, we can infer that it (Kulubá) became an Itzá enclave.”
Archaeologists think the palace was occupied twice: once in the Late Classic period (600-900 AD) and the other in the Terminal Classic period (850-1050 AD).
Bodies discovered during the uncovering of the palace will also be examined, and the INAH said future anthropological examinations could determine the sex, age, pathologies and even the habits of those Mayans.