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[Espresso]

Head of the Belizean Institute of Archaeology Jaime Awe said the Noh Mul temple was levelled by a road-building company seeking gravel for road filler.

The Mayan temple dates back to pre-Columbian times and is estimated to be 2,300 year old. Only a small core of the pyramid was left standing.

Police said they were investigating the incident.

Archaeologists said this was not the first incident of its kind.

"Bulldozing Maya mounds for road fill is an endemic problem in Belize," Prof Normand Hammond told the Associated Press news agency.

Archaeologists said they were alerted to the destruction late last week.

The Maya complex lies on private land but under Belizean law, any pre-Hispanic ruins come under government protection.

Dr John Morris of the Belizean Institute of Archaeology said the workers would have been aware of what they were doing.

"It is incredible that someone would actually have the gall to destroy this building out here," he told local TV channel News 7.

"There is absolutely no way that they would not know that these are Maya mounds," he said about the ancient structure.

Prosecutors said they were considering bringing criminal charges against the construction company.

Source (BBC News)

 

[Avixph]

Wow that's just terrible.

 

[DJ_Lae]

For gravel?

What the hell. That's awful.

 

[Omegasquash]

You've got to be kidding me.

 

[Neuromancer]

Couldn't you get gravel from like.... Anywhere?

 

[DC R1D3R]

Way to go guys.........

 

[V_Arnold]

The beginning of the end. WE NEED SAND YO, GOTTA DESTROY THE PAST.

What a wonderful species we are.

Couldn't you get gravel from like.... Anywhere?

I really do not want to be rude (usually some rude stuff comes after this), but I will assume that the one actually doing this wasnot amongst the brightest when it comes to forward thinking.

 

[RoboPlato]

This is what they get for the 2012 predictions.

 

[WeAreStarStuff]

Just sad.

 

[andycapps]

Bulldozing ancient structures for gravel. That's a new low.

 

[Count Dookkake]

Putting the grave in gravel.

 

[LiquidMetal14]

One of the stupidest things I've read in a while.

What kind of brainless idiot approved the removal of something historic like that?

 

[TCRS]

They just HAD to destory that one pyramid for gravel? Because there is no gravel anywhere else? The fuck man.

 

[Greg]

This is what they get for the 2012 predictions.

thank you for my morning laugh

 

[mario_O]

Wait..they what? Is this real life?

 

[DBT85]

I need some limestone, someone fetch me Khufus Pyramid.

 

[AnotherNils]

Man for gravel. Damn those ancient structures hoarding all that gravel!

I'm trying to think of a more inane reason to destroy an ancient structure and I'm coming up short.

 

[Grimm Fandango]

Did some searching, I think this was the temple before its destruction:

edit: removed, apparently a different temple in Lamanai area of Belize.

 

[Dead Man]

Fucking clowns.

 

[zeioIIDX]

This is what they get for the 2012 predictions.

 

[massoluk]

WHAT THE FUCK?! Can't you like monetize freaking priceless ancient site somehow instead of gravels?

 

[DC R1D3R]

Did some searching, I think this was the temple before its destruction:

Holy fuckin shit!

 

[Omegasquash]

Did some searching, I think this was the temple before its destruction:

Holy shit.

 

[Weiss]

Despicable. As a society, one of our greatest fears should be the desecration of ancient sites such as these.

Hopefully this prompts much harsher punishments in the event of future occurrences.

 

[pj]

Did some searching, I think this was the temple before its destruction:

no, that is not it

 

[CharlieDigital]

Is the government stupid or something?

These sites could be a huge boon for tourism and big generators of capital.

These guys should be punished harshly for destroying something so valuable so callously.

 

[CronoShot]

How could someone think it's okay to do that?

 

[Divius]

What a waste. What was that bulldozer-driver even thinking?

 

[Skeyser]

Did some searching, I think this was the temple before its destruction:

are you fucking kidding me, I had assumed it was some half destroyed structure that looked like nothing. Wow, just wow

 

[inHallways]

Intensely depressing.

 

[The_Darkest_Red]

Unbelievable. How can someone confuse an excavator for a bulldozer?

 

[Grimm Fandango]

no, that is not it

Ah you're right. I removed it but I can't find a pic of the damn thing!

 

[GoddyofAus]

That is fucking outrageous.

 

[AllenShrz]

This is what they get for the 2012 predictions.

Well... they did destroy many pyramids at the end of their cycles.

 

[Calm Killer]

wow.... what a waste...

 

[SpacLock]

At least my ride to work will be smoother.

 

[slit]

What a waste. What was that bulldozer-driver even thinking?

Maybe he was thinking he could get away with it.

 

[David Incorporated Esq.]

Probably just a mound and the contractors were dummies. Really a 2000 year old pile of rocks covered in dirt and trees is a 2000 year old pile of rocks covered in dirt and trees. :/

Apparently Americans did the same thing a whole lot with pre-European Native American mounds, and in an official capacity.

 

[clav]

What a waste. What was that bulldozer-driver even thinking?

$

 

[Kafel]

 

[DBT85]

Apparently Americans did the same thing a whole lot with pre-European Native American mounds, and in an official capacity.

They were creating jobs. Can;t do nothing to hurt the job creators.

 

[pj]

It's definitely a tragedy, and people should go to jail for it, but the area where this happened is large and has a lot of buildings.

From the pictures of the damage it looks like a grown over, unexcavated pyramid that would have looked like a small hill.

They absolutely knew what they were doing, but it's not like they took a wrecking ball to something that looked like this: http://wikitravel.org/upload/en/thumb/7/7d/Tikal.jpg/400px-Tikal.jpg


At least I really hope not..

 

[Kurtofan]

Big mixtec.

 

[Tamanon]

Is the government stupid or something?

These sites could be a huge boon for tourism and big generators of capital.

These guys should be punished harshly for destroying something so valuable so callously.

It sounds like the government didn't approve it, considering they're looking at prosecutions.

 

[David Incorporated Esq.]

I wonder just how many of these mounds are out there. Shit, if half of your nation is littered with the rock-pile of every Tomatl, Dickxquata and Harryoptla from 3000 years ago you're eventually going to have to start bulldozing them. Give them a look to check for historical significance then move on, there are plenty of temples in much better shape that are being preserved.

 

[jerry113]

Goodbye tourism $$$

At least it wasn't approved. That would have been even more devastating and a bad omen for other sites of archaeological importance.

 

[Oppo]

goddammit.

Reminds me of what happened to the Roman Coliseum. They used it as a quarry (many years ago) for a long time. That's why big chunks are missing.

 

[BraXzy]

I fear of the day our entire cultural history is wiped clean because of greedy lazy people.

Imagine if someone knocked down the sphinx to get some limestone?

 

[Htown]

I wonder just how many of these mounds are out there. Shit, if half of your nation is littered with the rock-pile of every Tomatl, Dickxquata and Harryoptla from 3000 years ago you're eventually going to have to start bulldozing them. Give them a look to check for historical significance then move on, there are plenty of temples in much better shape that are being preserved.

For Everything.

 

[pj]

I wonder just how many of these mounds are out there. Shit, if half of your nation is littered with the rock-pile of every Tomatl, Dickxquata and Harryoptla from 3000 years ago you're eventually going to have to start bulldozing them. Give them a look to check for historical significance then move on, there are plenty of temples in much better shape that are being preserved.

Tons. I was in belize last year and while driving to Actun Tunichil Muknal (most fun place I've ever been to), our tour guide pointed out all the mounds in the farm land. He said the mennonites who work the land remove a little bit of the mounds every time they plow the fields. It's technically illegal, but they do it anyway because no one cares and it's just wasted land to them.

Belize has the population of a medium sized US city, with none of the money. Stuff like this is bound to happen.