were in one of the most beautiful places in the world, Central America, on the holiday of a lifetime, visiting the ancient Mayan ruins of Tikal in Guatemala. We were trying to reach the crumbling temples, palaces and pyramids before dawn. There we would wait for the sun to rise slowly from the surrounding greenery to cast whispers of yellow-golden light over the crumbling remains of this once great civilization, as if bringing it back to life. The jungle canopy is over 200 ft (60 m) high and yet the crumbling pyramids, some still covered in creepers and vines, reach right up through it to the heavens above. From atop one of these great mountains of human endeavour, whichever way you turn, the rainforest stretches as far as the eye can see. It could be a blanket of clouds or a vast ocean below, a beautiful ocean of green, where bright-coloured macaw and toucans sweep across golden pyramids that rise like rocks from the shore.
It was in this forgotten city that we saw our first skull, that symbol of death which normally strikes fear into the heart of modern man. It was a stone skull, carved into the side of one of the pyramids. To us this was a monstrous image. But our guide, Carlos, explained that to the ancients who had carved it, the skull had quite a different meaning. The Mayans and other ancient tribes of Central America had a different understanding of death from our own. To them death was not a full stop. It was not something to be afraid of, but rather something to look forward to, a great opportunity to pass into another dimension, a chance to join with the world of the spirits and the ancestors. To these ancient people death was part of the balance of nature, part of giving back to Mother Earth the life she had given. The skull, it seemed, was symbolic of this view. And then Carlos told us the legend of the crystal skulls…
According to an old Native American legend, there are 13 ancient crystal skulls, the size of human skulls, with movable jaws, that are said to speak or sing. These skulls are said to contain important information about the origins, purpose and destiny of mankind and answers to some of the greatest mysteries of life and the universe. It is said that this information is not only important to the future of this planet, but vital to the very survival of the human race. According to these ancient teachings, one day all of the crystal skulls will be rediscovered and brought together for their collective wisdom to be made available, but the human race must first be sufficiently evolved, both morally and spiritually, so as not to abuse this great knowledge.
This legend, said Carlos, had been handed down by generations of Native Americans over thousands of years. Indeed, as we were to discover, variations on this legend are found amongst several Native American tribes, from the Mayan and Aztec descendants of Central America to the Pueblo and Navajo Indians of what is now the south-western United States, right up even to the Cherokee and Seneca Indians in the north-eastern USA. The Cherokee version of the legend, for example, says that there are 12 planets in the cosmos inhabited by human beings and that there is one skull for each of these planets, plus a thirteenth skull vital to each of these worlds.
Of course, when we first heard Carlos’ brief words, standing on the steps of one of the pyramids of Tikal, we thought the legend was a fascinating story – a snippet of ancient mythology, a wonderful, colourful tale, but a story, just a story, nothing more than that. It was an interesting curiosity that we might just recount to friends when we got back home.
What we didn’t know then was that we were about to discover something that would change our view of the legend quite dramatically, something that would lead us on an adventure, on a journey of mystery, intrigue and wonder. It was to be a quest that would take us right across two continents, from the jungles and ancient ruins of Central America to the remote palm-fringed islands of Belize, and from the cold snows of Canada to the deserts of the United States. It would be a journey that would take us from the corridors of the British Museum in London and the laboratories of one of the world’s leading computer companies in California to a sacred gathering in a secret location deep in the mountains of Guatemala. Along the way we would meet some of the world’s leading scientists and archaeologists, encounter UFO investigators, psychics and mystics, and hear words of great wisdom from native elders, shamans and medicine men. We would uncover strange facts, hear ground-breaking new scientific theories and learn of ancient teachings kept secret for thousands of years. It was to be a journey where we would learn that things are not always as they seem and that truth can be stranger than fiction. It was also a personal voyage of discovery where we would explore our own attitudes to life and death and our place in the universe, an inner journey that would take us into the darkest reaches of the human soul.
In the meantime, before leaving the ruins of Tikal, Carlos told us a little more about the ancient Mayan civilization that had built the great city that now lay in ruins before us. It was a civilization which stretched across a vast area of Central America, from what is now southern Mexico in the north to Honduras in the south, and from the Pacific coast of Guatemala in the west to the Atlantic and Caribbean coast of Belize in the east. This area spanned the tropical forests of Chiapas, the highlands and steaming lowlands of Guatemala, and the huge expanse of low-lying savanna stretching out into the Atlantic Ocean known as the Yucatán Peninsula.
As Carlos explained, the ancient Maya built one of the most advanced and sophisticated civilizations the world has ever known. The cities that remain include the large, bold and militaristic Chichen Itzá; Uxmal, with its monumental architecture, carved snakes and weird ‘chac-mool’ figurines; the deeply aesthetic and beautifully proportioned Palenque; Tulum, set against the white sandy beaches and azure waters of the Caribbean Sea; and the once thriving metropolis of Tikal, which now stood crumbling before us, but which had once housed over 50,000 inhabitants.
We were still wandering in the ruins of Tikal just before nightfall, contemplating the achievements of this now almost forgotten people. Our guide and the handful of other tourists had gradually drifted away through the rainforest back to their temporary jungle lodge homes and we found ourselves alone in the Great Plaza of the old city just as the sun was going down. The plaza is a striking and somewhat eerie place tucked away in a small jungle clearing. To its north lie the 12 ruined temples of the North Acropolis, to the south the palace of the Central Acropolis. To the east and the west rise two great pyramids, known as the Temple of the Jaguar and the Temple of the Masks (see plate no. 3).
What struck me first about these pyramids is just how steep they really are. In concept they are similar to the pyramids everyone knows from Egypt, but they are smaller than the famous pyramids of Giza, far steeper and do not have smooth sides. Instead they are built in huge layers, or giant steps, and each pyramid has a crowning temple on top.
Every aspect of the pyramids’ design was sacred to their ancient builders. The first nine large steps represent the ‘lower world’ and the walls and crown of the temple on top bring the total to 13, precisely the number of gods in the Mayan ‘upper world’. The crowning stone carvings on top of each temple represent the thirteenth and ultimate layer. People can only ascend to these great temples by one route and on one side, where far smaller steps are provided. The number of human-sized steps is always significant. In this case there were 52. Like 13, this number is also important in the complex, sacred and divinatory Mayan calendar.
As we looked at these great temples in the fast fading light I suddenly felt compelled to make the steep climb up the eastern face of the Temple of the Jaguar. While Ceri wandered around taking photos in the plaza below, I reached the top of the pyramid, quite out of breath, just as the evening sunlight was turning to gold. Looking out from the doorway of the temple, just below the thirteenth layer, the towering pyramid of the Temple of the Masks looked straight back at me across the plaza as if mirroring my gaze. Its face was illuminated sun-coloured gold and behind it lay a deep sea of green against the background of the fast darkening sky. It was the most beautiful view I had ever seen.
And then another vision entered my mind. It seemed to seep in from around me as if entering my veins. Of course it was just my imagination, but it seemed under no conscious control. Though there was no one else there I distinctly felt the strange sensation of other people coming up the steps behind me then turning to stand
