Balamku-Central Group

The Chenes (?) style buildings just outside (north?) at the edge of the South Group. Here are photos of some of them.

Figure 1. Puuc or Chenes style range-type, presumably residential, building.

The strange part of this architecture is that the masonry is veneer-style, as in Puuc and Chenes, but it doesn't share many other specific features of those styles, such as "monster-mouth" doorways or mosaic sculpture on the frieze above (or below) the medial molding.

Figure 2. Detail of the same building as in Figure 1. Note the basal molding.

Figure 3. Veneer stones in profile.

Figure 4. Close-up of the veneer stones.

Figure 5. Another residential building with benches.

Figure 6. Another room in the same building with an interesting niche below bench. Note the "Chaak" masks.

Figure 7. Close-up of one of the Chaak masks.

Figure 8. Note the molding.

Figure 9. Note the niche below the second bench.

Figure 10. Note the niches below the benches.

Figure 11. Entrance to the Central Group Quadrangle.

The arch at the south entrance to the Central Group appears to have been added later, connecting two pre-existing structures. In Figures 12 and 13 you can see that the corners are different.

Figure 12. Molding to the left of the south side of the south entrance of the Central Group. The molding looks a little Central Mexican.

Figure 13. Corner to the right of the south side of the south entrance of the Central Group.Note the rounded corner.

Figure 14. Unusual basal molding on the building right of the entrance arch.

Figure 15. Column in a room in the building to the right (east)  of the entrance.

Figure 16. Second column in the building to the right (east) of the entrance.

The building enclosing the south end of the Central Group has a strange structure stuck on the north side of the east end (Figures 17 and 18). It has two very steep stairways with alfardas (balustrades). The stairs are almost as steep as those on the Rio Bec-type false towers.

Figure 17. Steep stairway with alfardas at east end of south structure in the Central Group. West stairway. Note the rounded corner.

Figure 18. Steep stairway with alfardas at east end of south structure in the Central Group. North stairway.

This might be a radial temple, but I couldn't see the other sides because they weren't consolidated and the collapse obscures the form.

The northeast corner of the Central Group quadrangle feature a long, large structure composed of three pyramids fused together (Figure 19).  I've never seen anything quite like it. It appears that the two pyramids on the ends were built first and then the middle one built in between them. The gaps between the three structures were filled in with masonry (Figure 20).

Figure 19. Long structure composed of three connected pyramids in the northwest corner of the Central Group.

Figure 20. Masonry used to fill in between two of the pyramids.

Inside the western pyramid (Figure 21), the excavators found a substructure with a very well-preserved stucco frieze. I took the photos below inside. The use of the flash was not allowed, and it was quite dark, but I was able to stabilize the camera by leaning against the wall, and the photos came out well enough.

Figure 21. Western pyramid in the northwest structure of the Central Group. Note the rounded corner, the outset staircase, and the block masonry.

The photos run from west to east. The frieze is said to be fairly early, perhaps the fifth or sixth century. There are photos of the interpretive panels. I believe the interpretations were developed by Claude Baudez.

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Figure 43 shows the central doorway below the frieze, to illustrate that the stuccoes are above the medial molding.

Remarkable stuccowork!

Beautiful site.

Interesting architecture. I should probably read the literature on it.

As usual, feel free to use the photos for nonprofit education and research purposes. Do not publish without explicit, written permission.

Reference:

Arnaud, Charlotte, Marie France Fauvet-Berthelot, Dominique Michelet, and Pierre Becquelin (1998). Balamku, Campeche, Mexico: Historia del Grupo Sur. In XI Sinposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, 1997, editado por J. P. Laporte and H. Escobedo, pp. 144-161. Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología, Guatemala.

Balamku--The South Group

Balamku is a lovely lowland Maya archaeology site in southern Campeche. I visited it last Saturday with my friends Barbara and Pedro, who are both Yucatecan archaeologists.

Interestingly, Balamku was only discovered in 1990. I think that the nearby site of Nadzcaan was also discovered in the '90s, illustrating how much is left to be done in the region.

As you might guess, the area is poorly known. It is west of the Rio Bec region and southwest of the Chenes heartland. Balamku itself exhibits a blend of regional architectural styles but lacks a coherent set of the diagnostic features of any one of them.

I haven't reviewed the literature on the site extensively, but in the South Group, the structures seem to exhibit predominantly Peten style masonry and architecture, as you can see in Structure D5-5 (Figure 1). This structure is the tallest pyramid in the South Group, reaching a height of 15 m. The inset-outset stairways look Peten/Calakmul Early Classic to me. The block masonry, inset corners, and inverted-stairway vaults all feel Early Classic too.

Figure 1. Structure D5-5, the primary pyramid in the South Group.

Figure 2. Block masonry flanking the stairway, Str. D5-5.

Figure 3. The risers of the stairs are rather high. The scale is 10 cm.

Figure 4. Crude masonry forms the corbel of the vaults in the temple of Str. D5-5. Note also the kancab pak wasps' nest.

As you can see in Figure 1, the temple atop the pyramid is damaged, probably by looting or tree-falls, exposing in profile the construction of the vaults. Note the crude masonry of the corbel (Figure 4).

The whole South Group appears to be built atop a large platform several meters high (Figure 5).

Figure 5. Edge of the platform supporting the South Group. It must be at least 2 or 3 m high.

Near the edge of Str. D5-5 is small house with Puuc-Chenes type masonry (Figures 6-7). Not surprisingly, this structure is stratigraphically above and therefore younger than the Peten-style block masonry of the main pyramid (Figure 8). The small structure, however, also has a blend of masonry styles itself.

Figure 6. Small house with Puuc-Chenes style masonry in front of Str. D5-5. Note the veneer stone on the front stoop and on the facing of the bench.

Figure 7. Here you can see the veneer stone facing the bench within the structure.

Figure 8. The back of the small structure showing its stratigraphic position above the corner of Str. D5-5. In the foreground, you can see a couple of superimposed stairways from different construction episodes. 

I hope to find time soon to post some photos of the Central Group.


Reference:

Arnaud, Charlotte, Marie France Fauvet-Berthelot, Dominique Michelet, and Pierre Becquelin (1998). Balamku, Campeche, Mexico: Historia del Grupo Sur. In XI Sinposio de Investigaciones Arqueológicas en Guatemala, 1997, editado por J. P. Laporte and H. Escobedo, pp. 144-161. Museo Nacional de Arqueología y Etnología, Guatemala.