Archeologists in Guatemala have uncovered what they believe is the unlooted tomb of the first ruler of Waka, a wealthy Maya city that played a major role in the centuries-long war between the dominant empires of Calakmul and Tikal.The unnamed ruler, who lived around AD 200, established a dynasty that produced 22 kings over 700 years. “If this is indeed the founder, it is the discovery of a lifetime,” archeologist David Freidel of Southern Methodist University said on Wednesday.Waka, known today as El Peru, sits on an escarpment north of the San Pedro Martir River. The city’s control of trade along the river made it very wealthy. At its height, Waka had thousands of inhabitants and formed alternating alliances with each of the two nearby cities.The site in the Laguna del Tigre National Park in northern Guatemala has 672 monumental structures. It was rediscovered by oil prospectors in the 1960s and quickly mapped by archeologist Ian Graham in the 70s, but Freidel is the first to explore it thoroughly.
