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October 10, 2019

Structures at the Maya village of Ceren

Structures at the Maya village of Ceren were buried in up to 17 feet of ash over a period of several days in A.D. 660, freezing the 1,400-year-old village in time.

The village was blasted by toxic gas, pummeled by lava bombs and then choked by a 17-foot layer of ash falling over several days after the Loma Caldera volcano, less than half a mile away, erupted.

Learn more about National Science Foundation-supported archaeological research taking place in Ceren in the NSF News From the Field story Buried in ash, ancient Salvadoran village shows images of daily life. (Date image taken: 2000-2015; date originally posted to NSF Multimedia Gallery: Oct. 10, 2019)

Credit: University of Colorado


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