Mayan Temple Covered in Giant Faces

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According to National Geographic, a group of Guatemalan and American archaeologists discovered a 1600-year-old Mayan temple covered with giant faces lost in Guatemalan forests. Called the Temple of the Night Sun, the building served as a kind of lighthouse, red as blood and visible from miles away.

The temple, located in the Mayan region known as El Zotz, is a 13-meter-high, multi-tiered structure of the El Diablo pyramid on which a palace and tomb were discovered, probably belonging to the founder of this dynasty.

Worship to the sun god

The sides of the pyramid were decorated with 1.5 meter high masks to glorify the sun god, as well as a shark-like figure and a host of other jaguar-like creatures. Such icons, according to archaeologists, represent the phases of the star's birth, splendor and post.

The first phase, represented by the fish figure, shows the star rising on the horizon. The second phase, showing the midday sun, is represented by the “blood-taking” creature, while the third phase, corresponding to the sunset, is represented by fierce jaguars.

Unlike the Incan and Aztec civilizations, which had relatively centralized settlements, the Maya were more widespread, with city-states encompassing a territory that today corresponds to Belize, Guatemala, and the Yucatan region of Mexico.

Sources: National Geographic, YouTube and avn