1,400-year-old tomb featuring giant owl sculpture discovered in Mexico

The site is also home to multicolored murals, featuring symbols associated with power and death.

At the threshold to the burial chamber there are carvings of two human figures holding various artifacts in their hands, who may have been the guardians of the tomb, according to the INAH.

And inside the burial chamber itself is an “extraordinary” mural in ocher, white, green, red and blue, showing a procession of people carrying bags of copal, a tree resin burned as incense during ceremonies.

“It’s the most significant archaeological discovery of the last decade in Mexico due to the level of preservation and the information it provides,” said Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum.

Mexico’s culture secretary, Claudia Curiel de Icaza, underlined that the tomb is an “exceptional discovery” for what it tells us about Zapotec culture and “its social organization, funerial rituals and belief system, preserved by the architecture and the murals.”

A multidiscplinary team from the INAH is working to protect the site and conduct further research.

This includes stabilizing the murals, which are in a “fragile state” due to the impact of tree roots, insects and rapid changes in environmental conditions, said INAH.

https://www.cnn.com/2026/01/29/science/zapotec-tomb-mexico-scli-intl