Written in SCIENCE he
Can you imagine knowing the innards of one of the most impressive works of ancient Mexico? UNAM scientists will participate in the international NAUM project that seeks to make an x-ray of the Kukulcán pyramid, located in the archaeological zone of Chichén Itzá in the state of Yucatán. According to the bulletin issued by this university, Arturo Menchaca Rocha and Edmundo García Solís explained that the objective of this project is “to obtain the image of the “innards” of El Castillo, with the help of cosmic ray detectors, and to verify the existence of a hidden camera in the second substructure, below the emblematic building.”
Furthermore, they commented that after registering the two already known cameras of the substructure onecalled Jaguar and Chac Mool, will explore the rest of what lies beneath the 30 meter high pyramid.
The bulletin indicates that this research has authorization from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) and UNAM financingas well as the National Science Foundation of the United States, the Dominican and Virginia universities also collaborate, in addition to the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory (Fermilab).
The UNAM team of researchers has made four visits to Chichen Itzá to laser scan the pyramid and thus know its dimensions to obtain an exact image. The density of the materials was also measured, and the size of the detector to be used in the tunnels was tested with the help of a model.
In addition to the x-ray, the objective is also to verify the existence of a hidden camera in the second substructure of the pyramid and below the building.