Copán Photographs

Archaeologists digging in the excavation tunnels deep within Temple #16 unexpectedly discovered a slightly smaller and elaborately sculptured ancient temple still in original condition. It had been build by the 10th Ruler of Copan, "Moon Jaguar," and had been dedicated in AD 571, long before Copan's 16th Ruler "Yax Pahsaj" consturcted Temple #16 over the newly discovered temple. In most instances, when a new Maya king constructs a larger structure over one built by the previous ruler, it causes considerable damage to the earlier structure and they were often dismantled before new construction began. But in this instance, the earlier temple's exterior walls had been carefully covered and preserved with soft soil, protecting them from any damage. Because there were traces of the original bright rose coloring still showing on the buried temple, archaeologists decided to name it "Rosalila." It is the only known example of a temple structure surviving intact at Copán.A narrow illuminated path inside the tunnel entrance now allows visitors to walk around the footprint of Temple #16 just inside its exterior walls, allowing visitors to view sections of the recently unearthed "Rosalila" temple.Having discovered this amazing Maya art treasure in good condition, archaeologists and the Honduran Goverment wanted to preserve Temple #16 as it is, but also allow visitors to view the newly discovered temple as it once appeared. A creative solution was conceived by making lightweight plaster castings of its exterior walls while it was still underneath Temple #16. The team of archaeologists then used the finished castings to reconstruct a facsimile of "Rosalila" where visitors could view an ancient Maya temple in its original bright colors and appearance. To enhance this opportunity, funds were raised to construct a spacious modern Copán Sculptures Museum in 1996 just outside the Copán ruins in which to house the reconstructed "Rosalila" temple. In addition, the new museum also exhibits and preserves many of Copán's other rare sculptures, altars, and temple facades. When a monolith or altar is about to be moved into the new Copán Sculptures Museum, a casting is carefully mae of the original carved stone and the cast duplicate is made weatherproof and painted to look like the original sculpture, then is put in the original's place within the ruins.

考古学家在第16号神庙内部深处的发掘隧道中作业时，意外发现了一座体量略小、雕刻精美且保存完好的古代神庙。该神庙由科潘（Copán）第十位统治者“月亮美洲豹”主持建造，于公元571年举行落成仪式，比科潘第十六位统治者“亚克斯·帕萨赫”在这座新发现的神庙上方修建第16号神庙的时间要早得多。在大多数情况下，当玛雅新君主在前代统治者所建建筑之上修建更大规模的建筑时，会对早期建筑造成严重破坏，且新建筑开工前往往会将早期建筑拆解。但本次发掘中，这座早期神庙的外墙被松软土层精心覆盖并封存，使其免遭任何损毁。由于这座被掩埋的神庙仍残留有原本鲜亮的玫瑰色纹饰痕迹，考古学家遂将其命名为“罗萨莉拉（Rosalila）”。这是目前已知科潘地区唯一一座完整留存的神庙建筑。隧道入口内设有一条带照明的狭窄通道，游客可沿第16号神庙外墙内侧环绕其基址行走，从而观赏新近出土的“罗萨莉拉”神庙的部分遗存。鉴于这一保存完好的玛雅艺术瑰宝被发现，考古学家与洪都拉斯政府既希望保留第16号神庙的现状，又希望让游客能够一睹这座新发现神庙原本的样貌。为此，团队想出了一项创新性方案：在这座神庙仍被压在第16号神庙下方时，先对其外墙制作轻质石膏翻模。考古团队随后利用完成的石膏模复刻出“罗萨莉拉”神庙的复制品，使游客得以观赏一座还原了原本鲜亮色彩与原貌的古玛雅神庙。为优化这一展示体验，相关方于1996年募资在科潘遗址外围修建了一座宽敞的现代化科潘雕塑博物馆（Copán Sculptures Museum），用于安置复刻的“罗萨莉拉”神庙。此外，这座新博物馆还展出并保存了大量科潘地区其他珍稀的雕刻品、祭坛与神庙外立面遗存。当有独石雕刻或祭坛需要迁入这座新的科潘雕塑博物馆时，工作人员会先对原雕刻石材进行精细翻模，将复刻品制作成耐候材质并涂装至与原雕刻一致的外观，再将复刻品放回遗址中原物的位置。