System of canals found under Mayan tomb likely built as gateway to afterlife

Archaeologists in Mexico made a surprising discovery under a seventh century tomb that could reveal a huge detail about the Mayans and their religious beliefs.

Below the Temple of Inscriptions belonging to King K'inich Janaahb' Pakal, former ruler of the Mayan settlement known as Palenque, is a system of nine canals measuring roughly 55 feet in length.

"The presence of these canals is very important and very significant," said Arnoldo Gonzalez, the directory of archeology in Palenque, whose team discovered the waterways as a result of a dig that started in 2012.

Gonzalez and his team of researchers believe the tomb, constructed between 683 and 702 A.D., were purposely built atop a spring to give Pakal's spirit a path to the afterlife.

An inscription in the tomb reportedly says that in order to be accepted in the underworld, the dead must be submerged in the water of a god called "Chaac."

While the researchers remain hopeful that the tomb's placement signified a much greater meaning to the Mayans, Gonzalez did not rule out the possibility that the canals were simply part of a drainage or water supply system.

"We must also consider that the ancient Palenque residents designed the hydraulic system to metaphorically reproduce the path that led K'nich Janaab' Pakal to the waters of the underworld," he said.

More photos from King Pakal's tomb: