Abstract
LUBAANTUN.—In vol. 57 (1927), Pt. 2, of the Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, Mr. T. A. Joyce, with the assistance of notes contributed by Mr. Cooper Clark and Mr. J. E. Thompson, reports on the excavations which he conducted on behalf of the British Museum on the Lubaantun site in British Honduras in 1927. The excavation of the megalithic hillterraces, discovered in the previous year, was continued. It is now confirmed that these terraces were constructed before the two large pyramids, and probably constitute the earliest phase of architecture on the site. Excavations to the north of Mound S, as it is now known, in search of a continuation of the megalithic hill-terraces, while unsuccessful in finding them, produced clear indication of five architectural periods. The earliest phase of building laid bare at this point consisted of a stairway which ran under the mound. It was approached by an inclined stucco flooring. Behind the stairway was a wall built against the hill-side, which may be earlier than the steps, or may have been built as a containing wall to enable them to be constructed. Examination of the exposed surface of the whole pyramid suggested to Mr. Thompson that the remarkable in-and-out style of architecture may have been the result of disintegration rather than an artificial and conscious product; but Mr. Joyce is not inclined to agree, especially as this style occurs only in the Lubaantun area and not elsewhere as might be expected if it were the result of disintegration. Mounds D, F, and G were also excavated and produced a considerable number of relics. A platform in mound G would appear to have carried a wooden structure which was destroyed by fire. The floor was covered with three feet of burnt clay mixed with wood ash. Old Empire pottery of excellent style precluded any possibility that the structure dated from a re-occupation of the site.
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Research Items. Nature 121, 650–652 (1928). https://doi.org/10.1038/121650a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/121650a0