Screening Eagle’s GS9000 Used to Scan Unexplored Area at one of the New Seven Wonders of the World – Chichen Itzá

Screening Eagle’s revolutionary new Multichannel GPR, GS9000, has recently been used in a once-in-a-lifetime geophysical project at one of the new Seven Wonders of the World - Chichen Itza, El Caracol Observatory. The technology was used to search for underground structures and anomalies without disturbing the site.

Chichen Itza is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and one of the most visited archaeological sites in the world with its three remarkable structures from ancient Mayan civilizations. One of the most intriguing structures at the site is El Caracol (The Snail), named due to its’ spiral staircase inside the tower. The unique structure is suggested to have been used as an observation tower to monitor astronomical movements.

The team at Geofisica Ambiental Servicios lead by Iván Rufino and Screening Eagle’s Alex Novo, Chris Moody, Rodrigo Gomez, worked alongside the Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) to scan various areas of the site non-invasively.

With accurately georeferenced data plus software for real-time 3D visualization, the GS9000 enables fast high-resolution imaging of the subsurface. Together with GPR Insights advanced post-processing software, it has been proven as an ideal tool for non-destructive archaeological prospection of the observatory's surroundings to map remains of ancient foundations and manmade tunnels or chambers. The site is located in the Yucatan peninsula which geology is characterized by peculiar karstic limestone formations with several freshwater sinkholes, known as cenotes. These form when the ceiling of the cave collapses, exposing a pool of groundwater underneath.

The main open area in front of El Caracol was also mapped with the GS9000 to investigate the existence of these geological formations at the site. Multichannel ground penetrating radar (MGPR) technology, like the GS9000, provides researchers underground information with an extraordinarily high level of detail. This can help reveal concealed architectural elements, such as buried chambers, tunnels, or platforms, which could provide valuable insights into the Mayan construction techniques and the observatory's original design. By understanding the site's subsurface conditions, INAH can develop effective conservation, and preservation plans as well as advance on the understanding of Mayan culture and Chichén Itzá city foundation.

Preliminary results at El Caracol: The figure shows a satellite image with an overlayed depth-slice image at approximately 1m depth. Areas is yellowish/reddish/brownish colors show locations with high likelihood of presence of underground structures. Image generated with GPR Insights software.

El Caracol´s tower apparently featured strategically placed holes that faced specific stars to help the Mayans plan for various activities. As modern technologies are now being used to reveal parts of history not seen for thousands of years, it becomes possible to see how they built it with the knowledge they had back then, what the original building could look like, and the true functionality of the building. The team collected a substantial amount of multichannel GPR data with preliminary depth-slices looking very promising showing some possible anomalies that could be connected to important underground structures. 

A multidisciplinary team with geophysicists, engineers and archaeologists joining forces is working on advanced data analysis. A scientific paper is planned to be written by researchers from Geofisica Ambiental Servicios, INAH, and Alex Novo. Until then, it is evident that the exciting new capabilities of the GS9000 presents a wealth of opportunity for archaeologists and geophysicists to discover new facts about the world’s history.