Archaeologists excavating the Mayan pyramid have discovered something remarkable. They knew that this gigantic monument was built on a site that was heavily affected by the largest volcanic eruption in Central America in the last 10 years. However, they did not know that the construction of the Mayan pyramid in San Andrés began only a few years after the eruption, much earlier than previously thought.

Volcanic Mayan Pyramid: From Destruction to Resettlement

After the catastrophic eruption of the Central American volcano Ilopango Tierra Blanca Joven in 539 AD, the Mayan village of San Andrés was buried under a layer of more than thirty centimeters of ash and hot stony material. The village was located only 40 km from the volcano, which protected it from a direct flow of lava. But it was right in the heart of the vast eruption zone.

This historic eruption ejected so much material into the atmosphere that the climate in the area cooled dramatically. This, together with the burial of a large amount of fertile agricultural land, made the Zapotitán valley area practically uninhabitable.

"Given the catastrophic scale of the eruption, scientists believe many places in the affected areas have been abandoned. It took a very long time for the area to be repopulated. ”This was stated by Archaeologist University of Colorado Professor Akira Ichikawa. He led the last series of excavations at the Pyramid of San Andrés (which scientists have identified as the Campana building).

A 3D plan of the Campana structure, showing the excavations that uncovered the Mayan stone pyramid and evidence of the eruption of Tierra Blanca Joven in El Salvador in 539 AD

However, the time frame for the resettlement of San Andrés was surprisingly fast. As the results of the deep excavations showed, the Mayan groups returned to San Andrés as the lake of volcanic rock and ash cooled and hardened. It could have happened after five, but no later than 30 years after the eruption. When they returned to the devastated place where their village once stood, they did so with some intention. Almost immediately, they embarked on a very demanding monumental construction project - they built a massive Mayan pyramid. Below it, they built a support platform, which forms the so-called Campana building.

Pyramid of Campana

They used cooled volcanic ash and rocks to build the plateau and the pyramid, which they mixed with the soil. They created a solid and precisely designed monument in the Mayan pyramidal style. When completed, the Campana pyramid was to reach a height of at least seven meters, with the platform on which it stood lifting it another six meters.

Stone Mayan Pyramid at San Andrés: A) central staircase; B) stratigraphic links also between the primary layer of Loma Caldera, the stone structure and the filling of Tierra Blanca Joven; C) a large amount of Tierra Blanca Joven filling under machined stone blocks.

The Mayan builders probably took several decades to complete the construction. Construction activity was interrupted by two volcanic eruptions. The eruption of Loma volcano in 620 AD, which took place less than six kilometers from San Andrés, corresponded to the later stages of the construction of the Mayan pyramid of Campana.

Excavations under a layer of volcanic rock and ash provided no evidence that any monumental structure had taken place in San Andrés before the eruption of the volcano in 539 AD.

The Campana construction was the first monumental construction project launched in this sector of the Mayan territory. It is located in the center of present-day El Salvador. Over time, other monuments were built in the area, but it was Campana that started this new trend. Once completed, this Mayan pyramid was to be the largest structure in the region. Thanks to her, San Andrés turned from a small village into a place of mass gathering and worship, as people gradually returned to the area over the years in large numbers.

The deeper significance of the Campana pyramid project

The main architectural complex in San Andrés, El Salvador, where a huge Mayan pyramid built of volcanic rock and ash was uncovered.

It is clear to Professor Ichikawa that the Campana construction project was launched as a direct response to the highly destructive eruption of Tierra Blanca Joven. Ichikawa states that the eruption of Loma volcano in 620 AD also prompted the launch of new and ambitious monumental construction projects.

The big question, of course, is why the Mayans responded to the traumatic and civilization-threatening volcano eruption in this way? Why did they suddenly start building monuments in a place they knew to be a zone of volcanic fallout? Given the hostility and ruthlessness of the Zapotitan Valley environment three decades after the eruption of Ilopango Volcano, it must have been an extremely challenging construction project.

Professor Ichikawa combines this project with complex and living spiritual traditions Maya.

"In the Mesoamerican worldview, volcanoes and mountains have been recognized as sacred sites," he wrote in an article for Antiquity. "White ash ejected by the eruption could be perceived as having a strong religious or cosmological significance. The use of Tefra (volcanic rock and ash) from Tierra Blanca Joven in the monumental buildings in San Andrés could thus be an important symbol of religious respect. "

Maya

From the Mayan's point of view, they may have felt obliged to use the materials provided by the sacred volcano as a "gift" to build a monument in honor of its spirit. Or maybe they hoped that by building a monument to the ghost of the volcano, it would calm and prevent future eruptions (or at least eruptions of such a catastrophic nature).

Social, cultural, political and economic factors may also have been involved. After such a devastating natural disaster, people may need a common goal to unite them. Their unification within a large, spiritually significant construction project may also have served the interests of the leaders. They wanted to ensure this common goal, to meet the needs of the people and at the same time confirm their viability as leaders.

Large infrastructure projects are also effective as employment programs because they give people jobs and provide them with a livelihood and support for their families. All this provided that the workers on the Campana construction project received a reward for their services.

Sudden changes in the environment

Professor Ichikawa recognizes the importance of these factors and believes that the Maya's extraordinary response to the crisis is justified today. "Sudden changes in the environment are one of the challenges facing modern society," admitted Professor Ichikawa. "Locations like San Andrés can teach us about human creativity, innovation, adaptation, resilience and vulnerability in the face of such events."

Whatever their motivation, the Maya found a way to re-establish themselves after one of the most devastating events in San Andrés. This undoubtedly confirms the unifying power of their common beliefs and common visions.

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