Selvtægten har rystet arkæologer i den lille relativt velordnede tidl. britiske koloni i Mellemamerika, hvor en entreprenør rev pyramiden ned for at skaffe grus som underlæg til en vej – men det er sket før.
Head of the Belizean Institute of Archaeology Jaime Awe said the Noh Mul Mayan temple dates back to pre-Columbian times and is estimated to be 2300 year old. Only a small core of the pyramid was left standing, BBC online writes Thursday.
Police said they were investigating the incident. Archaeologists said this was not the first incident of its kind.
“Bulldozing Maya mounds for road fill is an endemic (udbredt) problem in Belize,” Prof Normand Hammond said.
The Maya complex lies on private land but under Belizean law, any pre-Hispanic ruins come under government protection.
Dr John Morris of the Belizean Institute of Archaeology said the workers would have been aware of what they were doing.
“It is incredible that someone would actually have the gall (frækhed) to destroy this building out here,” he told local TV channel News 7.
Prosecutors said they were considering bringing criminal charges against the construction company.
Se mere om mayaerne på
http://da.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maya
