Chapter Ten
(Located OUTSIDE OF THE WALL next to what Juan labeled “Structure I” on Fernel’s fancy map)
The items identified are as follows:
Note to self—Per Angélica, macuahuitl is used for both the singular and plural form of the weapon, but that doesn’t matter because I still can’t pronounce the damned word.
Quint closed his field notebook, stuffing it back into his pack. This afternoon was muggier than the morning had been, but a fraction cooler thanks to a cloud cover that was protecting them from the sun’s rays. That didn’t make the place any less buggy, though.
He pulled his canteen from his pack, shooing away a fly that had been harassing him while he’d tallied the inventory from a second cache found last evening before everyone had headed back to camp for the night.
It wasn’t eagle-eyed Daisy who’d found the goods this time.
Instead, Juan was the hero of the moment.
An axe head sticking up out of the dirt had caught his eye while he’d been slowly circling the partially collapsed structure on the outside of the wall—the very first building they’d come across during their initial search for Site 5, now named “Structure I.”
Its twin inside the wall was designated as “Structure II,” according to the updated LIDAR map of Site 5 on Fernel’s tablet, with more labels to come as they continued to uncover what had been hidden for centuries.
Anyway, Juan had been trying to determine the possible original purpose for Structure I during his walkabout while Bronko and his machete cleared the way, and lo and behold the axe head was discovered.
Further vegetation clearing in the twilight had found evidence of more treasures in a second cache, but by then night had fallen, and Juan had ordered everyone to head back to camp for supper and sleep, including his daughter, who had been contemplating working through the night with a flashlight in spite of Quint’s argument against that dangerous notion.
As Quint unscrewed the lid of his canteen, he stared down at the lineup of weaponry bits and pieces.
Angélica, Daisy, and Raul had worked steadily throughout the morning hours, diagramming the layout of everything in the five feet by eight feet cache area, taking pictures along the way, and then excavating each item from the partially buried arsenal.
Same as in the first cache Daisy had found yesterday morning, the contents of this second cache were all weapons. However, here on the outside of the wall, the building that held them hadn’t been made of stone, so the natural framing had long ago decomposed, swallowed by the jungle.
Quint looked off to the side of Structure I, where Pedro and Bronko were currently slashing through more of the vegetation.
His thoughts returned to earlier this morning at breakfast, when Angélica had told the crew she wanted to figure out if the walled stairwell inside Site 5—where she’d nearly walked into the pit viper before Quint had stopped her—was the entrance to an underground tunnel leading to Structure I on the outside of the wall.
She’d assigned Pedro and Bronko the job of clearing more vegetation from the area surrounding Structure I while searching for any signs of a tunnel exit point.
Juan waited until everyone had finished eating and left the mess tent except Pedro, Quint, and Angélica before speaking up.
“I disagree with your tunnel theory, gatita.” He reached for his coffee cup.
“Those stairs more likely lead to an underground bunker, not a tunnel. Manpower spent looking for an exit hole is a waste of time and energy.”
Angélica pushed her empty plate aside, scowling across at him. “We already talked about this back in the tent. It is not a waste.”
They had? Quint swallowed the last of his breakfast burrito. The discussion must have happened after he’d left to grab some food. The smell of bacon and eggs had lured him along like chum for a shark.
“Gatita, we have a lot more clearing work to do inside of the wall in order to further assess the possible structures noted on Dr. Fernel’s map. We need Bronko and Pedro with their machetes inside the wall.”
“A few hours of machete work this morning outside of the wall is all I’m asking for, Dad.”
Juan downed the last of his coffee. “If that stairwell did actually lead to a tunnel back when Site 5 was in use, the exit on the outside of the wall is most likely buried somewhere under what is left of Structure I. To search for it now when there is much more to be found inside is unwise.”
“We don’t know for certain where the tunnel might lead, Dad. There could be another stairwell access point, similar to the one we found, hidden in the jungle somewhere near Structure I.”
“What makes you think the tunnel would come out inside of Structure I?” Quint asked Juan. “Have you seen a similar setup at a different site?”
Juan shook his head. “Not exactly, but we’ve found tunnels at sites that lead down into temples, and a few that connect to other structures.
Some believe tunnels were used as a means of escape for the monarchy and nobles during times of war.
Other historians are of the opinion that they are simply walkways between structures possibly used by temple workers or shaman.
Maybe even for prisoner movement during sacrificial ceremonies or rituals.
” He tapped his finger on the table. “With this site and that immense wall, which most likely was used for fortification purposes, common sense dictates that any access to the tunnel outside of the enclosed site would be safest if located inside of Structure I, where it could be easily guarded.”
“You’re assuming this site has a history of warfare?” Pedro asked, frowning at Juan, same as was Angélica.
Juan nodded. “What other purpose could the wall have?”
“That’s an unproven hypothesis, Dad. It’s also short sighted.
We don’t know what happened at this site or its purpose when it was in use.
This could have been a sacred site, as Mom theorized, and the wall was there to guard the high priests from being accessible to everyday people.
A wall like that would evoke a feeling of awe and reverence, adding to the mystique of whomever resided on the inside. ”
“You’re thinking it could be just for looks?” Quint clarified while wiping his hands on a napkin.
She shrugged. “All I’m saying is that until we find some stelae or altar stones with glyph carvings that give us some clues what the Maya were up to here, it’s hasty to make assumptions.”
“I still think you’re wasting manpower on this tunnel,” Juan said, standing up from the table. “But you’re the boss, gatita, so we’ll do it your way.”
Fernel hadn’t weighed in with an opinion, because he’d taken his coffee and plate of food back to his tent, telling Angélica he’d join them at the site as soon as he was ready.
According to Juan, Fernel was working on entering the additional data points he’d collected yesterday to his LIDAR software in order to deliver a thorough real-time map for more fruitful excavation work.
Now, six hours and a lunch break later, Quint stared at what remained of Structure I. Officially, all of the pieces were still there, but right now it just looked like a gluttonous giant hippo had plopped down on the building and partially flattened it.
He took a sip of warm water, swishing it around in his mouth. A cold beer would be nice, but he’d be happy to settle for a warm one later this evening, if Pedro was willing to part with some of his hidden stash. Quint wasn’t above bribery, or even blackmail, if that was what it took.
He’d spent part of the morning helping Pedro and Bronko beat back the jungle, per the boss lady’s wishes.
The other part had been spent organizing some of the rubble remains while Juan played supervisor and teacher, explaining about the process used for carving the limestone blocks without state-of-the-art tools.
As Angélica had said the first day they’d come across Structure I, there was clear evidence that it had sat up on a high platform.
Juan confirmed as much during his morning lesson.
On the far side of the building were the broken remains of fifteen or so narrow steps leading up to what must have been a somewhat enclosed building at the top with walls that had lost the fight with Mother Nature long ago.
Under Juan’s direction, Bronko had carefully climbed the steps on all fours, trying not to knock down any more loose stones.
From the top, he’d confirmed that the height of the building allowed him to see over some of the lower canopy and brush and to visually follow the sacbe for a distance.
If the Maya had cleared the forest in the area during their time, there would have been no problem seeing any travelers coming up the road.
Bronko had also told them he was almost level with the top of the wall on this side, which meant that if someone were to have stood on the roof of Structure I before it had collapsed in on itself, they could have seen over the wall into the interior of Site 5.
When Quint had asked Juan what that might mean in the grand scheme of the overall purpose of not only Structure I, but also this site in general, Juan hadn’t had an answer for him.
Instead, he’d shaken his head and muttered something about his daughter not wanting him to make more false assumptions without further investigation and analysis.
Then he’d left Quint to see how his daughter, Raul, and Daisy were managing with the cache excavation.