National Geographic Society is sponsoring the excavations and restorations at San Bartolo. They have included glimpses of San Bartolo en their new film, "The Dawn of the Maya" aired in PBS on the 12th of May, 2004. Visit their web page for fascinating details.

*The murals of San Bartolo:
In March of 2001 William Saturno stepped into a looters tunnel to get away from the heat waiting for his Petén guide to find some desperately needed water. The murals were inches from his head. In the 2002 season Saturno’s team built a field camp and started the painstaking task of preserving the murals. They used a solution of lime, water and sand to inject into the mural to paste the fragile pieces of paint/stucco. This solution has been used in the murals of Bonampak, Cacaxtla, and in Europe. They also preserved the floor and floor basin of the room where the stucco was painted with a solid red.
The murals show a male central figure, possible the Maya king, in a Maize God mask. He is holding onto a bundle in front and above his head. A male figure in front is kneeling and holding the bundle on his head, with another kneeling behind the central figure. There are 2 feminine figures with their chest bare, (possibly invoking fertility) kneeling behind the central figure. There are 2 figures standing behind the female figures. The feminine figures are depicted with 2 right hands. One of the persons standing behind has been painted with only 4 toes. The lines of the painting are much more controlled than the murals at Bonampak and make the parts stand out.
The bracelets on all figures are also seen on stelae 1 at the site and are similar to a jade plaque of 127AD where the figure has bone bracelets and is dressed similar to the Maize God in San Bartolo. The pose of the maize god is also similar to the Leiden plaque, which also dates to pre-classic.

The project has since recovered more of the mural with their excavations during the 2003/04 season. We await their studies for tourist visitation.