An engraved stone altar attesting to the political vicissitudes of 6th century Maya city-states has been found in La Corona, Guatemala. The limestone block is 4.8 x 4 feet and weighs close to a ton. It was discovered in the remains of a temple and can be precisely dated thanks to the inscription and the awesomeness of the Maya calendar to May 12th, 544 A.D.

The carved stone depicts a ruler of La Corona named Chak Took Ich’aak. His dynamic representation is on the top center of the stone. He holds a ceremonial bar, a symbol of leadership, shaped like a double-headed serpent. Emerging from each of the two heads are the patron deities of the city: Chak Wayis Chahk to the right, Yaxal Ajaw on the left side. On the right edge of the stone is a hieroglyphic inscription which includes the precise date. Lining the bottom edge is the head of a supernatural being adorned with aquatic plants.

In 544, La Corona was ruled by the Kaanul kingdom, the powerful Snake dynasty that was then centered in the city of Dzibanche (the dynasty’s seat moved to Calakmul around 580-590). La Corona under Chak Took Ich’aak was one of Kaanul’s allies/vassal city-states. He was still king almost 20 years after the inscription was dedicated when in 562 Kaanul defeated its greatest rival, Tikal. When Tikal fell, Kaanul gained control over all of Peten.

Like the Centipede dynasty king K’inich Bahlam II who would rule El Perú-Waka 100 years later, Chak Took Ich’aak cemented his alliance and position by marriage to a princess from the Snake dynasty. Dynastic marriages were an essential tool in the Snake kingdom’s box, tying a panoply of Maya cities around Tikal to the dynasty and forming a sort of political and military cordon to support Kaanul’s final assault. The Snake lords ruled Peten for two centuries after that victory.

[Tomas Barrientos, co-director of excavations and investigations], said the altar “fills in the gaps” and “pieces together the puzzle” of the Mayan culture’s political relationships.

“It’s a high quality work of art that shows us they were rulers entering into a period of great power and who were allying themselves with others to compete, in this case, with Tikal.”

La Corona “was the place where the most important historical Mayan political movement began to take shape.”

Archaeologists in Rijnsburg in the western Netherlands region of South Holland have discovered a unique eagle-headed basin from the Roman era. The site was being excavated in 2016 in advance of development of a new park when the team discovered a cremation grave from the late Roman period. Inside the grave were dozens of bronze fragments mixed in with cinerary remains of three individuals.

For more than a year restorers worked to puzzle the fragments back together revealing a bronze washing basin of exceptional quality. The bowl is shell-shaped, 16.5 inches in diameter with a rim four inches high. There are 33 ridges undulating across the bottom and wall. Those ridges become stylized wings where the wall transitions into the shoulders and neck of the bird of prey. The eagle’s head, its beak and eyes, are engraved in exquisite detail down to the tiny feathers on its cheeks. There are floral designs engraved on the bottom of the bowl and in a band marking the border between the wall and the wings of the eagle.

This was not locally produced. Objects of this quality and craftsmanship were not locally produced. It was probably crafted in a specialized workshop in Italy and made its way up north with a Roman officer stationed at the nearby limes, the northern boundary of empire. Only ten such vessels have been found in Europe. This is the first one from the Netherlands, and is entirely unique in its eagle decoration.

Archaeologists believe it predates the burial. Other artifacts found in the grave, like combs made in northern Germany, indicate the deceased were likely Germanic. Their remains were buried around 330 A.D., but the basin is at least 50 years older than the other grave goods and could have been made as early as 250 A.D. It was later reused as a cinerary urn because of its great value and beauty.

[Provincial archaeologist René] Proos said the find could have been used to bribe a Germanic tribal chief: Roman generals and diplomats tried to buy the loyalty of local chiefs with gold, jewellery and bronze and silver objects.

Historians assumed the Romans left the Netherlands in the 3rd century. However, says Proos, this find, along with others from the last ten years, could mean the Roman army settled in the area again at the end of third or the beginning of the fourth century, perhaps by bribing the local chiefs.

The basin is now on display indefinitely in the Netherlands in Roman times exhibit at the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden. It has been 3D scanned and a model created so its remarkable features can be explored in detail.

The tomb of Mehu in the the Saqqara necropolis is open to visitors for the first time since it was discovered in 1940 and it was worth the long wait. Mehu was a vizier at the court of Sixth Dynasty pharaoh Pepy (ca. 2300 B.C.), a position of great power in the pharaonic administration. His tomb was designed to bear eternal witness to his high rank. It is a mastaba, a mud brick rectangular structure with a flat roof, of monumental size in a prime location 20 feet south of the southern enclosure wall around the step pyramid of Djoser.

When it was excavated by an Egyptian mission led by Egyptologist Zaki Saad, the tomb was found to contain one long, narrow corridor with six chambers. A sarcophagus and lid were found in the main burial chamber, but it was what was on the walls that made the greatest impression. Mehu’s name and titles were inscribed there; he had 48 of them, including “the scrub of the royal documents” and “Head of the Juries.” The accolades were enhanced by exceptional paintings covering the walls of four of the chambers.

Dr. Mustafa Waziri Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities said that the tomb is one of the most beautiful in Saqqara Necropolis because it still keep its vivid colours and distinguished scenes. Among the most strange scenes is the one depicting the marriage of crocodiles with the existence of a turtle.

Among the most important scenes shown on walls are those featuring the owner of the tomb during hunting in jungle or fishing as well as those showing the good harvesting scenes, cooking and dancing acrobatic dance, which was not previously shown in Saqqara before the sixth Dynasty.

Another inscription of major archaeological significance is the name of the deity Khenti-Amentiu, an early iteration of Osiris. Before the discovery of the tomb, references to Khenti-Amentiu had only been found in Upper Egypt. Mehu’s walls were the first evidence that he was worshiped in the Nile delta as well.

Mehu’s tomb was a family affair. Buried in two of the other chambers were his son Mery Re Ankh and grandson Hetep Ka II. This is another testament to Mehu’s power because most royal officials of his time were not allowed to be buried with their families. That privilege was usually reserved for the pharaoh. Both of Mehu’s descendants had important jobs and many titles, although nowhere near as extensive and important as their father/grandfather’s. Mery had 23 titles engraved on the wall of his chamber; Hetep 10.

The tomb has undergone a program of restoration to showcase the color and richness of the wall paintings. The Ministry of Antiquities has endeavored to stabilize the paint and develop a subtle, non-invasive but functional lighting system to allow visitors to see the beautiful 4,000-year-old art without damaging it.