“Sealing in what, though?”
Juan shrugged. “We won’t know until you move it out of the way.”
Quint scoffed. “Who do you think I am? Superman?” He scanned the mound surrounding the slab. The jungle had done a fine job of hiding it under layers of ferns, vines, and other undergrowth. “How did you two find this?” It wasn’t like there’d been a billboard for it along the path.
“It’s one of the mounds we noticed on the LIDAR map,” Fernel answered, showing him the tablet with the map. “Since I’ve collected more ground points, I was able to have the software lay out the map lines in real time.” He held the tablet out in front of them, aiming the camera lens at the mound.
Quint took the tablet from Fernel, scanning the jungle through the camera, amazed by how the LIDAR map elements overlaid the landscape in front of him on the small screen. It was like looking through X-ray glasses and seeing what the jungle was hiding underneath.
He glanced at Juan, who’d been in charge of the compass as Quint had hacked a path toward what he thought was supposed to be another one of the structures on the map. “Did you lead us bythis mound on purpose?”
Juan winced slightly. “Well, maybe a little. Dr. Fernel showed it to me when we set out. Since it was sort of on our way, I figured why not swing by to do some ground truthing. Kill two birds with one stone.”
“Does your daughter know about your slight variation of her plans?”
“Not yet.” Juan caned closer to the slab. “But we’ll fill her in after you shove aside this slab so we can see what’s behind it.”
Quint handed the tablet back to Fernel. “I don’t know if I can move that stone on my own. Look at the size of it.”
And what was behind the stone? Another sealed-off limestone mine entrance similar to what Pedro had stumbled onto at the last dig site? If so, Quint would rather they leave the slab in place. Nothing good had come from discovering that mine, only death. And snakes.
“We can make levers out of some of the trees,” Fernel said, tucking the tablet into his pack. “Use basic engineering to move it aside.”
“I vote we go find Angélica and round up Bronko and Fernando,” Quint said. He and the two others should be able to wrestle that rock away from the opening without damaging it. “She’s going to want to be here to see what’s inside.”
“It has to be some sort of tomb,” Fernel said, his voice higher with excitement. He walked about ten steps to the north of the mound, staring at the jungle through his tablet camera lens. “Look over here, Dr. García. The ground dips.”
Juan followed. “The ceiling of whatever is underneath the mound must have collapsed beyond the entrance.”
“Why would the entrance not have collapsed, too?” Fernel asked him.
Quint knew the answer to that one. “If it’s stone lined, like megalithic tombs and graves in Europe built during the Neolithic age, then those stones might have held the entrance up over time.”
“Well done, Junior Mint. Fifty more points for you.”
He didn’t want points. He wanted to go grab Angélica and bring her back here so she could see this before they messed with it. “I spent some time bouncing around Europe in my late twenties ondifferent gigs.”
“In Mesoamerica,” Juan said, “the limestone often gives way over time, causing cave-ins. Farther north on the Yucatán Peninsula, the failing of limestone layers often produces cenotes, since the rivers run underground through much of that area. Here, closer to the highlands, there are fewer underground rivers, but more mines and caves.”
“Caves acting as a mouth leading to the Underworld,” Fernel said, nodding. He turned back to Quint. “We must move that rock aside.”
“But if it’s caved in,” Quint returned, “we’re not going to see much.”
“There might be an altar stone just inside the entrance,” Juan said.
“Why?” Quint asked him.
“If it was a tomb or a mine, there may have been a protection ritual performed at the altar stone by those entering.”
That was all good and fine, but … “So, you’re back to thinking this is a religious site?” Quint asked Juan.
“Versus a prison, you mean?” When Quint nodded, Juan shrugged. “Move that slab aside and I’ll answer that question.”
Quint rubbed his jaw, moving closer to inspect the slab of rock. He squatted in front of it, rubbing his hand over it. The limestone was warm and pitted, lightly abrasive under his palm. “What’s heavier? Limestone or granite?”
Juan came up beside him. “That depends on the density of the limestone, but typically it’s less dense than granite, which makes it more susceptible to wear and weathering.” He tapped on the stone with his cane. “This has undoubtedly thinned and weakened over the centuries.”
“What if this mound isn’t an entrance to a tomb or grave or mine?” Quint asked. “What if this site was actually some sort of prison. Why would they close this off?”
