"But with you here, I know we shall be safe," the Mayan king responded.

Mayan kings and other royalty often went to their graves with jade suits, rings and necklaces.

- October 22, 726) was a Mayan king of Dos Pilas.

one man yelled, referring to the Mayan king high priest that legend said was buried deep below the Grand Pyramid.

The same insignia appears, centuries later, on images of Mayan kings, marking them as a fruitful link between earth, heaven and the underworld.

Adolescents were frequently sacrificed during the burial of Mayan kings.

The Mayan kings wrote messages in stone that were not unlike State Department pronouncements today, she said.

If the material is dried blood, as the researchers suspect, it almost certainly would be that of a Mayan king, they added.

Mayan kings cultivated godlike personas.

A Mayan king was expected to be a military leader.