A clip from the 70's tv show In Search Of describing one of the most important Mayan discoveries of all time, the discovery of Lord Pacal's Tomb in The Temple of the Inscriptions at Palenque, Mexico. lnteresting to hear how this show describes the artistic scene on the sarcophagus lid that ancient alien theorist have described as a man in a space vehicle. Leonard Nimoy (Spock) hosted this ground breaking tv show. Full Show www.youtube.com/watch?v=gRXomfNwiqI archaeology.about.com/od/archaeologic7/a/Temple-Of-Inscriptions-At-Palenque.htm The Discovery of the Sealed Tunnel In 1952, the Mexican archaeologist Alberto Ruz Lhuillier, who was in charge of the excavation work, noticed that one of the slabs that covered the floor of the temple presented one hole at each corner that could be used to lift the stone. Lhuillier and his crew lifted the stone and encountered a steep stairway filled with rubble and stones that went many meters down into the pyramid. Removing the backfill from the tunnel took almost two years, and in the process they encountered many offerings of jade, shell and pottery that spoke for the importance of the place. The Royal Tomb of Pakal the Great The stairway ended about 25 meters (82 feet) below the surface and at its end the archaeologists found a large stone box with the bodies of six sacrificed individuals. On the wall next to the box on the left side of the room, a large triangular slab covered the access to the funerary chamber of K'inich Janaab' Pakal, king of Palenque from AD 615 to 683. The funerary chamber is a vaulted room of about 9 x 4 meters (ca 29 x 13 feet). At its center sits the large stone sarcophagus made out of a single limestone slab. The surface of the stone block was carved to house the body of the king and it was then covered by a stone slab. Both the stone slab and the sides of the sarcophagus are covered with carved images portraying human figures emerging from trees.

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