In a landmark discovery announced July 2025, University of Houston archaeologists Arlen and Diane Chase have uncovered the long-sought tomb of Te’ K’ab Chaak (“Tree Branch Rain God”), the founding ruler of the ancient Maya city of Caracol in Belize. The 1,700-year-old burial, dated to circa 331–350 CE, lies deep beneath the Northeast Acropolis and marks the first identifiable royal tomb found at the site after four decades of excavation.

Te’ K’ab Chaak ascended as Caracol’s first ajaw (king) in 331 CE, establishing a dynasty that endured more than 460 years and helped transform the city into one of the largest and most powerful Maya centers in the southern lowlands. Hieroglyphic texts had long referenced him, yet his actual burial remained elusive—until a chance probe during the 2025 season revealed a void beneath an earlier excavation trench.

Inside the seven-foot-high chamber, whose walls were coated in sacred red cinnabar, archaeologists found the king’s remains accompanied by eleven ceramic vessels (including zoomorphic forms), three sets of jadeite earflares, carved bone tubes, Pacific spondylus shells, and—most spectacularly—a mosaic death mask fashioned from 89 jadeite plaques and 26 shell pieces. The mask, now being painstakingly reᴀssembled, once covered the ruler’s face in a dazzling display of royal power and divine connection.

“This is the only ruler’s tomb yet discovered at Caracol,” Diane Chase noted. “Everything about it screams elite royalty.” The find also hints at early ties to distant Teotihuacan, underscoring Caracol’s far-reaching networks from its very beginnings.

The discovery, named one of Archaeology Magazine’s Top 10 Finds of 2025, rewrites the early history of Maya kingship and promises fresh insights into the political and ritual foundations of one of Mesoamerica’s greatest civilizations. After 1,700 years, the founder king has finally come home.