(Photo by F. Estrada-Belli), Ancient pyramid reveals clues to Maya dynasty A Maya pyramid decorated in in red and yellow Stucco Frieze, has been unearthed in Guatemala, yielding clues as to the purpose of the building. Archaeologist Francisco Estrada-Belli of Boston University and the American Museum of Natural History said it was painted in vivid colours of varying shades, with details of blue and green stands along the exterior of a multi-roomed rectangular building, and measures 26 feet in length and 7 feet in height.
\"This is a unique find. It is a beautiful work of art and it tells us so much about the function and meaning of the building, which was what we were looking for,\" Estrada-Belli said.
He added that the carving shows a human figure in a mythical background, suggesting they may have been worshipped rulers.
According to the National Geographic Society, an inscription below the carvings reveals to building was commissioned by Ajwosaj Chan K\'inich, the ruler of Naranjo; a powerful kingdom to the south of the Mayan city of Holmul in the northeast of Guatemala.
According to Alex Tokovinine, a Maya epigrapher (expert on inscriptions), from the Harvard University, USA, said the text places the building around 590 AD.
He said, “Ajwosaj was one of the greatest rulers of Naranjo. The new inscription provides the first glimpse of the remarkable extent of Ajwosaj\'s political and religious authority,\"
The inscription was translated as, \"It ... reveals how a new order was literally imprinted on a broader landscape of local gods and ancestors,\" Tokovinine said.