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When archaeologists explored an underwater cavern in southern Mexico in 2014, they were shocked by what they found. The cavern is known as Sac Uayum, and is located in Mexico’s Yucatán peninsula. It is technically a cenote – a natural pit that comes about after limestone bedrock collapses, exposing groundwater beneath. Local villagers were said to be terrified of the spot, because pits like this were sometimes used by the ancient Maya for sacrificial offerings. Archaeologist Bradley Russell, from College of St Rose, and a group of divers scaled down roughly 20 metres into the unknown. Inside the pit were two chambers with human bones and skulls scattered across the floors of each. The skulls were elongated, as part of an ancient practice that is thought to have involved flattening people’s heads during infancy. Archaeologists still don’t know why the ancient culture did this – but it ain't pretty. The cenote sits just outside the ruins of the ancient Maya city of Mayapán, and the researchers think this shows that, like the modern day locals, the ancient Mayans kept their distance too. Local legend says that Sac Uayum is guarded by a feathered, horse-headed serpent. Older residents of the nearby village of Telchaquillo tell stories of people seeing the serpent perching in a tree, leaping up, spinning around three times, and diving into the water. Russell explained to National Geographic that the sinkhole is said to be “evil”. “To this day, people do not get drinking water from that cenote, it is generally considered taboo. “It’s off-limits, people do not let their children plan near there and there’s a lot of beliefs around this cenote having evil forces or malevolent forces associated with it. “Cenotes are important because the main access to the water that you get is through these sinkholes. “They are also believed to be access to the Mayan underworld and the homes of Gods. “Mayapan is a large city, it’s incredibly dense, there’s nothing like it in the classic period, it’s incredibly dense for Maya history, there’s nothing quite like it.” He added that the location of Sac Uayum – south of Mayapan – is a clue as to what was going on. In Maya beliefs, south is the direction associated with the underworld. Alternatively, Russell also suggested they could have been plague victims. "You wouldn't want them near the rest of the population. And you wouldn't want to drink the water either.” How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel Sign up to our free indy100 weekly newsletter Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings.

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The Louvre Museum in Paris has been evacuated after a bomb threat. Thousands of visitors and staff were escorted from the building and the hugely popular attraction was closed early Saturday because of a written warning. Parents were seen dragging children towards the exits as alarms rang out through the vast museum in central Paris overlooking the Seine River. The evacuation was announced at 11am with tourists seen flooding out of the underground shopping centre beneath its iconic art gallery’s glass pyramid. A spokesperson for the museum the response was linked to the government’s decision to put France on high alert after a fatal school stabbing by a suspected extremist. “The Louvre received a written message stating that there was a risk to the museum and its visitors”, a spokeswoman told AFP after announcing the closure on social media. “We have decided... to evacuate and close it for the day, while we carry out the necessary checks”. The Louvre communication service added that no-one had been hurt. Videos posted online showed people leaving, some hurriedly and some stopping to take photos, others apparently confused about what was happening. It came as the French government raised the threat alert level and is deploying 7,000 troops to increase security after Friday’s school attack. French authorities say a former student suspected of Islamic radicalization killed a teacher and wounded three other people before being captured. Dominique Bernard, 57, a French literature teacher, was stabbed to death in the courtyard of the Gambetta-Carnot secondary school in Arras on Friday. Three other members of staff were injured, two of them critically. The suspect, identified by prosecutors as Mohamed M., who has been arrested, was a former student of the Lycee Gambetta high school where the attack happened, a police source said. One of the attackers’ brothers was also detained nearby. Numerous witnesses heard Friday’s attacker shouting “Allahu Akbar”, according to prosecutor Jean-Francois Ricard. The government is also concerned about fallout in France from the war between Israel and Hamas. The Louvre, home to masterpieces such as the Mona Lisa, welcomes between 30,000 and 40,000 visitors per day. Read More The Louvre Museum in Paris is being evacuated after a threat while France is under high alert Scientists winkle a secret from the `Mona Lisa' about how Leonardo painted the masterpiece Russia and US say attacks by Putin’s forces in east are ‘new offensive’ - live Russia and US say attacks by Putin’s forces in east are ‘new offensive’ - live Reuters videographer killed in southern Lebanon by Israeli shelling is laid to rest Russia pounds Ukraine’s Avdiivka for fourth straight day

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