An ancient Mayan pyramid was bulldozed to the ground in Belize last week, as officials made way for roadbuilding.
The pyramid, a temple at the Noh Mul site in northern Belize, stood for nearly 2,300 years and was the center of a community with around 40,000 citizens and 81 buildings that spanned over 12 miles, CNN reported.
Archaeologists at the Institute of Archaeology denounced the demolition, calling it a blatant act of "ignorance."
"This is one of the worst that I have seen in my entire 25 years of archaeology in Belize," archaeologist at the Institute John Morris said. "We can't salvage what has happened out here-it is an incredible display of ignorance."
Jaime Awe, IOA's director, said crushing the temple to rubble was, "one of the worse set of blows I have felt philosophically and professionally."
Construction workers tore down the pyramid that stood at nearly 65 feet tall and was constructed around 250 B.C., to create space and build roads. The landowner maintains that contractors had no idea what kind of historical significance the temple bore, because it was shrouded in overgrown trees and brush.
The limestone quality used in the hand-cut bricks that made up the pyramid was top notch, according to local opposition legislator John Briceno, which made the location even more attractive for road building.
Briceno claims that this demolition won't hurt communities in the area-in fact, it'll in bring revenue.
"The Mayas use good material to build their temples, and these temples are close to [the village of] Douglas so that means that they have to use less diesel, less wear and tear; they can do more trips per day, and at the end of the day they can make more money," Briceno said.
Archaeologists said they would take pains to save any artifacts they could.
"I'm hoping that there will be bits and pieces that we can acquire from any kind of work that we do there," Awe said.
They also intend on taking legal action against both the landowner and the contractor.
