Why did the world's laziest workers destroy a treasured Mayan pyramid?

Construction workers seeking gravel for a project decided to take it from one place where it was easy to get - a 2,300 year old Mayan pyramid. The workers destroyed the ancient monument beyond any hope of repair.

BELMOPAN, BELIZE (Catholic Online) - The pyramid was one of the largest in all Belize until workers managed to destroy it with bulldozers, seeking gravel for a nearby road project. Now, the 100ft pyramid is filling for a local road.

The pyramid was part of the Nohmul complex, which itself is one of the most important archaeological sites in all Belize, in is a major archaeological site by all standards. Archaeologists are horrified at the destruction, which was performed without any regard for the sacred nature of the structure or its historical and cultural significance.

The damage is so complete, there is no possible way it can be restored.

Workers destroyed the entire pyramid with bulldozers, simply tearing down and hauling away chunks of the pyramid at a time. The chunks were reduced to gravel to become road fill.

The pyramid happened to be situated on private land, so the government had no direct control over the monument, however destruction of such artifacts are forbidden by law. The owner of the errant construction company says he was unaware of what was happening.

Archaeologists say it is impossible for workers to have mistaken the pyramid for anything other than what it was. The outline of limestone blocks is clearly visible in the construction.

What undoubtedly took Mayan workers years to construct by hand, modern workers demolished in days with backhoes and bulldozers.

Apparently, this is a problem in the region as workers sometimes choose to demolish ancient sites for building material rather than quarrying the material from a raw site. Basically, they are using the Mayan ruins because the work of digging is already done for them. As Jamie Awe, the head of the Belize Institute of Archaeology put it, "It's just bloody laziness."

---

'Help Give every Student and Teacher FREE resources for a world-class Moral Catholic Education'