An international team of scientists is preparing to look inside one of the most famous pyramids of the Maya civilization—El Castillo at Chichen Itza—not through excavations, but by employing cosmic rays. Researchers will use muonography—a visualization technique borrowed from elementary particle physics that utilizes muons, generated by cosmic rays, to “radiograph” massive stone structures. The aim is to find concealed chambers or corridors within the Temple of Kukulcan and test long-standing suppositions about secret rooms and, possibly, royal burials.
El Castillo, dedicated to the feathered serpent deity Kukulcan, was constructed between the eighth and twelfth centuries. Today, it is one of the symbols of Chichen Itza and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) emphasizes that scientists will first test the technology on what is already known. In the 1930s, archaeologists uncovered two internal chambers within the pyramid’s mass. If muonography “spots” them without breaking the stonework, this will clear the way for a complete scan of the edifice in search of yet unknown voids.
Muons, constantly born when cosmic rays interact with the atmosphere, easily pass through tens of meters of rock, but behave slightly differently in empty spaces. Sensitive detectors record the angle and intensity with which the particles traverse the pyramid, and then these data are used to construct a three-dimensional density map. Similar methods have already helped to reveal hidden space within the Great Pyramid of Khufu and several other ancient monuments, without causing them physical harm.
The project is being carried out in collaboration between INAH, the National Autonomous University of Mexico, several American universities, and the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. Scientists hope not only to confirm the presence of internal chambers and nested pyramids already familiar to archaeologists but also to examine hypotheses about Maya sacred architecture.
Previous geophysical surveys suggested that El Castillo sits directly atop a large cenote—a water-filled sinkhole in the limestone. For the Maya, such cenotes were sacred gateways to the underworld of Xibalba and the abode of the rain god Chaac. If muonography uncovers additional funerary or ritual spaces, it will strengthen the view of the pyramid as a multi-level “portal” between worlds, rather than simply a monumental temple.
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