Chetumal is a city in the southeast of Mexico. It is located at the extreme end of the Mexican Caribbean coast and its history dates back to the Mayans. About 15 kilometers from the city is the Oxtankah Archaeological Zone, one of the many in Mexico (a number that continues to increase due to the continued discovery of pre-Hispanic structures) and where you can see one of the three open chapels preserved in the Yucatan Peninsula.
The Oxtankah chapel It is a treasure and is believed to date back to the 16th century, but beyond its history, it is famous for its state of preservation, for being one of the main attractions of the Mayan Train route through southern Mexico and… for the vandalism of the Mayan masons. Or should we say “art” of the Mayan masons?
Graffiti on the church
The truth is that the church is quite simple. It has two rooms, the presbytery, and there are researchers who point out that the walls were partially covered. It is located in what is believed to have been a Mayan settlement in the region and the strategy of the Spanish in this area was the same as in others: as a show of dominance, they built a Catholic church on top of the pre-Hispanic ruins.
In the end, the Spanish settlement in that area did not come to fruition, but the church was started by reusing stones from the Mayan buildings in the area. If the construction had been completed, the walls would have been raised and, later, it would have been covered with a vault.
But the chapel was able to fulfill part of its mission, since it is not far-fetched to think that the friars gathered there the people they wanted to evangelize. However, something very special that remains to us today is its arch. And not only because of the arch itself, but because of the aforementioned graffiti.
There is a boat on the top right. More or less
It was in 1988 that researchers noticed a carved drawing depicting three ships on the south door of the baptistery. Researchers suggest that it could have been Mayan researchers who carved the rocks with the scene after seeing the ships on the coast and, although you have to use your imagination, it is easy to see at least one of those ships.
In situ conservation
But although it is not very large, there is more to see at Oxtankah than just the chapel, and one of the most interesting elements is an ornamental stucco that would date from sometime between 200 and 650 AD. It is a motif that represents a jaguar and that, like Explain Researcher Luis Raíl Pantoja Díaz, “gives the building a symbolic importance, since its façade faces east, marking the birth of a new day.”
Before
After
INAH Change Log
This, called a ‘mascaron’, is of great cultural importance, but because a protective element was broken by Hurricane Dean in 2007, the rains have raised the humidity level of the stucco, so researchers and restorers from INAH undertook conservation work in the same place.
This practice was carried out on a façade measuring 3.54 metres in length by 48 centimetres in height and on another 6.06 metres in length by 66 centimetres in height and consists of injecting lime water and grouts with materials from the region. Based on the images of their excavation in 1997, they replaced the stucco shapes in order to recover the volumes.
In addition, care was taken to prevent the proliferation of microorganisms in the pores of the stone and the water drains were rechanneled to the sides so that, in the event of rain, water would not fall constantly on the wall.
Ultimately, this preservation in the same place of discovery is something that is frequently done today, but that was not so common a few decades ago. Precisely, one of the pioneers in the search to leave the assets of the past in their place was Teoberto Maler, who managed to document El Castillo de Chichén Itzá in 1892.
Images | INAH
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