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.

考古人员在16号神庙（Temple #16）内部深处的发掘隧道中作业时，意外发现了一座尺寸略小、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“月豹”主持修建，于公元571年举行落成仪式，早于科潘第十六位统治者亚克斯·帕萨杰（Yax Pahsaj）在这座新发现的神庙之上修建16号神庙的时间。在绝大多数情况下，当玛雅新王在前代统治者修建的建筑之上兴建规模更大的构筑物时，会对早期建筑造成严重损毁，且新工程动工前往往会将早期建筑拆除。但此次发掘的情况却极为特殊——早期神庙的外墙被软土仔细覆盖并封存，使其未受任何破坏。由于这座被掩埋的神庙表面仍留有原始鲜亮的玫瑰色纹饰痕迹，考古人员遂将其命名为“罗萨莉拉（Rosalila）”。它是目前已知科潘地区唯一一座完整保存至今的神庙建筑。如今，隧道入口处设有一条带照明的狭窄通道，游客可沿16号神庙外墙内侧环绕其基座行走，得以观赏新近出土的“罗萨莉拉”神庙的部分遗存。鉴于这处保存完好的玛雅艺术珍品被发现，考古人员与洪都拉斯政府既希望保留16号神庙的现存原貌，又希望让游客能够一睹这座新发现神庙的原始风貌。为此，研究团队构思出一套极具创意的解决方案：在16号神庙仍覆盖于其上时，对早期神庙的外墙制作轻质石膏模具。考古团队随后利用成型的石膏模具复原了“罗萨莉拉”神庙的复制品，游客可在此观赏到色彩鲜亮、原貌完整的古玛雅神庙。为优化参观体验，相关方面于1996年筹集资金，在科潘遗址外围修建了一座现代化的大型科潘雕塑博物馆，用于陈列复原后的“罗萨莉拉”神庙。此外，这座新博物馆还展出并保存了科潘地区其他诸多珍贵的雕塑、祭坛及神庙外立面残件。当有单体石碑或祭坛需要迁入科潘雕塑博物馆时，工作人员会先对原雕刻石材制作精密模具，将翻制的复制品做防水处理并涂装出与原物一致的外观，随后将复制品放回遗址中原物的原本位置。