Restoration and Conservation of the Earthen Architectural Complex in Tazumal Archaeological Park, El Salvador, Central America

The Tazumal Archaeological Park is part of the Chalchuapa archaeological zone, which has been occupied since its earliest settlement around 1200 B.C. and continues to be an active site to this day. American archaeologist Stanley H. Boggs began excavations at Tazumal in 1942, concluding them in 1953 and establishing the site as El Salvador's first national archaeological park. Throughout his excavations, Boggs studied the site’s cultural sequence and focused on conserving its pre-Hispanic architectural structures, applying cement to the original earthen coverings. However, despite these efforts, the structures continued to deteriorate due to environmental exposure (rain, sun, wind, and other factors). In 2005, a new restoration project was launched using a mortar mix of black scoria, volcanic tuff, white pumice, clay, brown soil and hydrated lime, developed in 1997 by Mr. Ismael Girón, head of restoration at the Chalchuapa archaeological project, under the guidance of Professor Kuniaki Ohi. During this restoration, it was determined that white pumice was suboptimal, and amount of brown soil was increased, enhancing the mortar’s durability. In 2023, with funding from the Government of El Salvador as part of investment project 8094 for infrastructure improvements at Tazumal Archaeological Park, restoration efforts commenced across the site’s four architectural sectors. This presentation will cover the 2023 restoration and conservation processes of Tazumal's earthen architectural complex, conducted from February to March, and discuss the outcomes achieved through these efforts.