Roof Repair for San Bartolo Murals

Guatemala

Though this project, the Asociación Proyecto Arqueológico Xultun-San Bartolo a thatched roof covering was placed on the replaced at the San Bartolo heritage site. The site, located in the Petén rainforest of Guatemala, was heavily damaged during the last two hurricanes in the region. The covering is key to maintaining the environmental conditions necessary for the 1st century BCE murals and 3rd century BCE inscriptions within the chamber to remain uncompromised. With this project, the team replace the damaged guano leaf thatched roof with one made of synthetic guano. This synthetic alternative was chosen for its proven track record in withstanding the effects of strong hurricanes, as well as it its longer overall shelf life. Together with local carpenters, the team used local traditional methods to install the synthetic guano covering at the site.