chruch crypts

One of the other practices the Spaniards brought with them is the burial of the wealthy and influential patrons under the flooring of the churches.  

The deceased were buried under a dirt floor inside the crypt with lime and eventually moved into an ossuary in the same crypt. Coffins are not common and it was very rare to have a tombstone. 

The cathedral in the main park has some of the few crypts visitors may visit including one under a chapel that is currently used by mayan spiritual guides for ceremonies. Under the main altar, the remains of the conqueror Pedro they Alvarado and Bishop Francisco Marroquin are believed to have been buried. The remains are excavated in 1943 And put in a box in the local courthouse.

A beautifully excavated crypt is below the Santo Domingo church and has an exquisite mural painting from 1636.