Archaeologists find 1,000-year-old Mayan canoe in Mexico

Well-preserved vessel discovered in underground river during construction of tourist train

A wooden canoe used by the ancient Maya and believed to be over a thousand years old is pictured at a fresh-water pool known as a cenote and found during the archeological work accompanying the construction of a controversial new tourist train, in the state of Yucatan, in this handout released on October 29, 2021. Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH)/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES

A view of a freshwater pool known as a cenote, where a wooden canoe used by the ancient Maya and believed to be more than a thousand years old was found, in the Mexican state of Yucatan.

Archaeologists from Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History found the pre-Hispanic canoe in a cenote – underground rivers that were sacred to the Maya people, in the state of Yucatan.

Archaeologists take measurements at the site where they found pottery amid the construction of a controversial tourist train, in the state of Yucatan.

Archeologists of the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) inspects a cave as part of the archeological work accompanying the construction of a controversial new tourist train, in the state of Yucatan, in this handout released on October 29, 2021. Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH)/Handout via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS - THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES

Archaeologists examine fragments of pottery in a cave during the construction of a tourist train, in the state of Yucatan.

A pottery found in a cave by archaeologists at the site of a tourist train project, in the state of Yucatan.

A 1,000-year-old Mayan canoe has been uncovered in Mexico during construction work on a tourist train.

The well-preserved vessel was found during work on the "Maya Train", a controversial tourism project intended to link Caribbean resorts with ancient archaeological sites.

Underwater archaeologists from Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (Inah) found the pre-Hispanic canoe in a cenote – underground rivers that were sacred to the Maya people.

It was discovered between the southern states of Yucatan and Quintana Roo.

"The small boat could have been used for the extraction of water from the cenote or for the deposit of offerings during rituals," a Inah representative said.

It is the first canoe of this type so well preserved from the Mayan region, researchers said.

Previously, only fragments of these boats have been found in Guatemala and Belize.

The canoe has been initially dated to between 830AD and 950AD, but it is hoped an analysis, with the support of the University of Paris, will in November determine its age and wood type.

Archaeological finds are common in Mexico, where several pre-Hispanic societies such as the Aztecs and the Maya flourished.

In September, the remains of a staircase were found in a pyramid in the Xochitecatl Archaeological Zone.

In January this year, authorities said that more than 8,000 archaeological objects had been found during construction of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador's Maya Train's project.