Archaeological Discoveries at Balmk
The fall of the Balam’ek Empire has reverberated throughout the ages, and even today,
school children sing songs about the Foolish Emperor (Ahi’in) and the Wise Counselor
(Cocuum). Unfortunately, what was an historical event has turned into a modern morality play
and often the truth is veiled behind the need to warn the future. Yet over the last fifty years, a
concerted effort has been made to sort out the reality from behind the myth, the fact from
fiction and to plot out the sequence of events that brought low the greatest of the early
lowland states. Scientists and historians have joined forces to sift through the data and develop
new theories from the evidence. The application of the new rigorous science of archaeology
has been instrumental in this endeavor, and the results of large-scale excavations in the core of
Balmk (old Balam’ek) have revealed amazing new discoveries. We now have a general diagram
of the city layout and within the palace area, much of the remaining structures have been
revealed. Even many of fabled tombs of the emperors have been discovered and are now open
to scientists and visitors who still marvel at their grandeur.
After the destruction of Balam’ek by the might of the Ah Wosal confederation, the city
lay in ruins for decades with only squatters living amongst the crumbling remains. These
squatters filled the rooms of the palaces, the shrines, and the streets with their waste and
debris. As the jungle growth slowly returned, the ruins were buried under ever deeper strata of
vegitation. Later settlements also added to the disappearance of the ancient city by leveling
out the vestiges of buildings and then constructing new structures upon the ever-rising mound
of the city. When the recent excavations began, the remains of the capital of the Balam’ek
Empire were found to be buried 30 to 40 feet under modern street levels.
The Excavations at Balamk
Excavations in the ancient city uncovered a vast series of carved inscriptions lining most
of the major thoroughfares. Scientists were astounded when they found that most of the
inscriptions were governmental decrees and propaganda. Intensive analysis has revealed
considerable new information about even the last years of the faltering empire. Historians now
know that it had been a practice stretching back hundreds of years for the government to
publish all of its laws and decrees upon massive stone tablets. These remarkable steles lined all
major streets and were moreover placed around the market places of the city. Balam’ek touted
itself as an empire of law and so published its rulings and proclamations in stone. The rulers
understood that a wet humid climate quickly destroyed any document made of lesser
materials. Thus the “official” history of the empire was permanently inscribed for all the
inhabitants to see.
Although making excavations difficult, the deep layers of debris preserved much of this
ancient stonework. Since the inscription slabs were of a size too large for reuse in later
construction, they were usually knocked over and subsequently buried under forest growth and
new construction. Beginning with the excavations directed by Ianis Blokum near the 3rd
Military Gate, archaeologists found the first series of inscribed slabs. These stone slabs, what
we might today call stele were called in Chuntl (the official language of the empire) Lakumtuun- great stones. These were carved out of laterite which provided most of the empire’s
early building material. Laterite is a substance that forms in hot and very humid climates in
layers under swamps and marshlands. When it is uncovered, laterite it quite easy to shape into
blocks of various sizes, yet once it is exposed to air, the newly shaped material quickly hardens
into solid stone.
They found imperial decrees which detailed each set of laws enacted by the Balam’ek rulers.
Excavations within the Imperial Palace
It is here within the center of the imperial city that so much archaeological work has
been undertaken. We now have a nearly complete layout of the Palace of the Emperors and it
is possible to detect the various stages of construction and occupation. Because of its superior
stone construction and wide-spread use of stone vaulting, sections of the palace still stand up
to four stories in height. After the fall of the city, refugees and later squatters lived in the vast
structure, slowly filling up the lower levels with refuse. This fill preserved many of the rooms
and halls of the palace from collapse; however excavators have had to do structural support
work to shore up the ancient walls and vaulting. The present government hopes to open most
of the structure for tourism here in the near future; if the necessary funds are found to
complete the restoration.
Of course, the Imperial palace was completely plundered and archeologists have found
no direct evidence of the legendary Halls of Gold, the Treasury of Gems, and the Diamond
Throne. Most historians believe that all this vast wealth was used to fund the faltering imperial
government and military during its last years. The little that was left found its way into the
hands of the invaders. Xok the Great, leader of the Ah Wosal invaders, personally protected the
palace from destruction, while insuring that any moveable items left with him as plunder. So
while most of the city of Balam’ek was ransacked and set afire, the Great Palace of the
Emperors survived the death and destruction of the empire and was submerged under the
debris of the centuries.
Discovery of the Imperial Tombs
The veneration of ancestors played an important role in the empire, from the poorest family up
to the Palace of the Emperors; each maintained a shrine to the souls of the ancestors. These shrines
found their greatest elaboration in the twenty-seven imperial tombs located on the western slopes of
the imperial palace complex. The West was looked upon as the realm of the dead and each body was
either cremated of entombed with its eyes facing the setting sun. Yet, the west never considered a
place of fear by the people of Balam’ek, since it was the entrance to the glories of the afterlife. Official
doctrine stated that the souls of the departed left with the sun to join the ancestors and the greatest
expression of this “official” dogma were the imperial tombs in Balam’ek.
Unlike the tombs found throughout most of the world, the royal tombs were never used as a
storehouse of wealth. Imperial records state and archaeology has proved that anything more than the
body of the ruler was ever placed within the tomb complex. But that does not mean that the tomb
lacked magnificence; each of the twenty-seven completed tombs was constructed as a monument to
the memory of the ruler and as a symbol of the glory and might of the empire. Each tomb complex was
open to the populace and was used as a refuge of quiet and solitude within the hustle and bustle of the
teeming metropolis. Inside the encircling walls of the complex, was a series of buildings and pavilions
celebrating their life and reign. The greatest architects and craftsmen of the realm put forth all their
skill to create a masterpiece for the ages. Within the prescribed overall design, great care was taken to
fashion out of stone something unique and each emperor strove to surpass his or her predecessors.
The tomb of Emperor Lachan’ek (reigned 1637-1656) stands out as the pinnacle of Balam’ek
architecture. Here the imperial architect Yoaat of Toob’il used massive blocks of multi-colored marble
for the tomb. Purple, blue, and black veins ran through the snow white marble and amazingly pieced
together to form building s that looked as if they were each carved from a single block of stone. The
galleries and pavilions looked out over the city, and it was here that the imperial family would watch the
rising of the autumn moons. Legend also states that the last emperor fled here in despair as the Ah
Wosal soldiers put the city to the sword. The only courage the bumbling fool ever summoned was when
he took a sword from a fleeing guard and then threw himself upon the point of the blade. On that very
spot, the marble does not have the normal coloration, but has vein of red running through it. Today the
tomb of Lachan’ek is again open to the sun after its long entombment underneath the wreckage of the
centuries. We too can now stroll and look not upon the ancient Balam’ek, but down on the gardens and
buildings of the modern city.
Later rulers did not have the financial resources to construct such elaborate sepulchers and
instead set up their own tombs within the existing structures.