Science: Buried Treasure in the Jungle

Archaeologists unearth an unspoiled Mayan tomb

In a clearing near the remote Rio Azul deep in the jungles of northern Guatemala, workmen were methodically chipping away at a boulder-filled shaft. As the narrow passage dropped abruptly under a rocky outcropping, Archaeologist Grant Hall suddenly spotted a streak of dark red.

"It's painted!" Hall cried. His coworkers, members of a U.S.-Guatemalan team that was hoping to unearth an undisturbed Mayan crypt, crowded to the rim of the pit. "We all wept and embraced," recalls Archaeologist George Stuart. "There was such a sense of incredible relief....