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16号神庙深处的发掘隧道内开展工作时，意外发现了一座尺寸略小、雕刻精美且保存完好的古代附属神庙。该神庙由科潘（Copan）的第十位统治者“月亮美洲虎（Moon Jaguar）”主持修建，于公元571年举行落成奉献仪式，远早于科潘第十六位统治者亚克斯·帕萨赫（Yax Pahsaj）在这座新发现的神庙上方修建16号神庙的时间。在绝大多数情况下，当玛雅新君在前代统治者所建建筑的上方修筑更大规模的结构时，会对早期建筑造成严重损毁，早期建筑往往会在新施工启动前被拆除。但此次发现的早期神庙的外墙被松软的土壤精心覆盖封存，从而免遭任何破坏。由于这座被掩埋的神庙仍残留有原本鲜亮的玫红色彩绘痕迹，考古学家遂将其命名为“罗萨莉拉（Rosalila）”。它是目前已知科潘遗址中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设施的狭窄通道，游客可沿16号神庙外墙内侧的占地范围步行游览，得以观赏新近出土的“罗萨莉拉”神庙的部分遗存。鉴于发现了这件保存状态极佳的玛雅艺术珍品，考古学家与洪都拉斯政府既希望保留16号神庙的原貌，又希望让游客能够一睹这座新发现神庙的原本样貌。考古团队由此提出了一项创新性解决方案：在该神庙仍被压在16号神庙下方时，对其外墙制作轻量化石膏铸模。随后考古团队利用完成的铸模复建了“罗萨莉拉”的仿制品，让游客得以观赏一座还原了原本鲜亮色彩与外观的古玛雅神庙。为进一步优化参观体验，相关方面于1996年在科潘遗址外围募资修建了一座宽敞的现代化科潘雕塑博物馆，用以安置复建的“罗萨莉拉”神庙。此外，这座新博物馆还展出并保护了众多科潘遗址出土的其他珍稀雕塑、祭坛与神庙立面遗存。当有独石纪念碑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，将铸模复制品做防水处理并涂装至与原雕刻一致的外观，随后将复制品安置在遗址中原物的位置。