Xunantunich – Belize

Posted on 31/08/2023 by Michael

Xunantunich

Xunantunich – Belize

Location

The name of the site, recently christened by the inhabitants of the nearby town of San Jose Sucotz in the Cayo district, means ‘stone lady’. The site was the civic-ceremonial centre of the regional capital and controlled the important trade route between the River Mopan and the River Belize, the east coast of the Yucatan Peninsula and the Gulf of Honduras. The settlement was established on a hilltop near the river. The developed section consists of four main groups, AD, with the largest pyramids – possibly platforms for temples – situated in Group A; Groups B, C and D correspond to elite residential groups. The Xunantunich ruins are situated on the tourist trail between Belize and the Tikal ruins in Guatemala. The site is located on the edge of the Western Highway, opposite the Maya town of San Jose Sucotz and the beginning of the River Mopan rapids. Access to the site is via the river on a small human-powered ferry. The protected area of the archaeological site has become the only patch of rainforest, due to the excessive felling of trees for cultivation and livestock breeding in this section of the Maya Mountain foothills. The site has a small museum and rest rooms for visitors. On the banks of the River Mopan are several small establishments selling brightly-coloured Maya handicrafts.

Site description

Structure A6 or El Castillo. At 40 m, this is the highest pyramid on the site and its present-day appearance is the result of successive visible modifications to various parts of the platform. The front displays a monumental stairway leading to the first terrace, approximately 10 m above the plaza, where precincts with numerous entrances were built; continuing behind these constructions is the great accumulation of stones and earth that supports the temples of two subsequent building phases, the top one tiring the most recent. The lower temple is adorned with stucco masks, modelled on the friezes at the east mid west ends; these date from an earlier period than the upper rooms. Nowadays the friezes have been covered with authentic copies to protect them while simultaneously exhibiting them to the public. The frieze on the east side is composed of three large terrestrial, solar and Venus-related masks, with the signs for the moon and day between them. Situated Above these records are niches framed by Venus symbols; seated inside the niches are the figures of people who were decapitated towards the end of the Classic period (AD 800-900). Judging from their position, these figures may well represent the Bacabs or ‘skybearers’. The frieze on the west side displays just one and a half of these masks symbolising the sun god. Situated between them is a square frame around an image of the fire god Chaac or Kah’k Chaak, which in turn is framed by bands adorned with the woven mat design, Pop in the Maya language. The upper record also shows the image of a mutilated figure, possibly corresponding to a pauwahtun, as in the frieze on the opposite side.

Group A. This ceremonial group is situated north of the main platform and is arranged around a rectangular plaza delimited on its north side by a palatial complex with vaulted bays and various chambers around a central courtyard. Situated at the east end of the plaza are three pyramid platforms and two low constructions. At .1 much later date the pyramid at the north end gained n small two-bay temple at the front, which has lost its roof, and two stelae and altars were erected inside; the one in the rear bay has survived almost intact, while the front bay still displays a circular altar inside a quadrangular box. At the exact centre of the plaza stands a pyramid platform with four stepped sections the temple at the top has disappeared almost completely – which divides the original plaza into two sections; on the west side, near the north-west corner, lies one of the elongated platforms of Ball Court 2. The west side of the main plaza is delimited by a pyramid whose west side supports one of the platforms of Ball Court 1; the north end of the play area is sealed by a low retaining wall, while the south end is open. Another two medium-sized mounds and the west platform of the second ball court run along the west side of the plaza.

Group B. Situated north-west of the ball court and excavated by Thompson in 1938, this group corresponds to an elite residential unit, nowadays in a poor state of conservation due to the fact that the excavations have remained exposed – without having consolidated the walls – since Thompson’s day. In the 1970s Elizabeth Benson and David Pendergast discovered evidence to suggest that the buildings were still inhabited during the Early Postclassic period (AD 900 to 1200). Half-way along the path leading from Ball Court I to Group B it is possible to see two granite spheres, which would almost certainly have been used in connection with the ritual ball game.

Groups C and D. These are residential groups situated to the south and south-east of El Castillo; judging from the ball court structure that forms part of Group C, this could also have fulfilled civic and ceremonial functions. Eight stelae and two circular altars have been identified in the Group A plaza; two stelae have dates from baktun 10, suggesting that the site continued to be occupied during the 10th century, by which time several important cities in the central lowlands had been abandoned.

From: ‘The Maya: an architectural and landscape guide’, produced jointly by the Junta de Andulacia and the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico, 2010, pp246-248.

Xunantunich

1. El Castillo; 2. Plaza A-1; 3. Plaza A-2; 4. Plaza A-3; 5. Ball Court 2; 6. Ball Court 1; 7. Group B; 8. group C.

Getting there:

From San Ignacio. You can either take an infrequent bus (B$2) or a collective taxi (B$4) to San Jose Sucotz. From there you cross the River Mopan on a quaint human-powered ferry (free). From the ferry it’s about a mile to the site entrance (15-20 minute walk – uphill).

GPS:

17d 05’ 20” N

89d 08’ 30 W

Entrance:

B$10

More on the Maya

Topoxte – Guatemala

Posted on 29/08/2023 by Michael

Topoxte

More on the Maya

Topoxte – Guatemala

Location

This site is situated south of Lake Yaxha, on an island or peninsula, depending on the level of the lake. The vegetation on the island is controlled regularly and boasts very pleasant spaces that make it easy to get from one plaza to another. Access to the site is via boat from the Yaxha visitor centre, where there is a small interpretation centre with a scale model and wooden replicas of pieces made by local craftsmen. Topoxte belongs to the Yaxha-Nakum-Naranjo National Park and great importance is attached to the conservation of the nature reserve.

History of the explorations

Like Yaxha, Topoxte was discovered in 1904 by Teobert Maler, who mapped the main plaza and took photographs of Building C. Subsequently, Maurice de Perigny, Silvanus Morley, William Bullard and other researchers visited the site. The explorations and restoration works conducted by the IDAEH-KAVA-DAI concluded in 1996. Topoxte has a longer history than both Yaxha and Tikal as archaeologists have discovered ten construction stages underneath the Main Plaza, with an occupational timeline stretching from the Middle Preclassic to the Middle Postclassic (800 BC-AD 1450). During the excavation of the south-west section of the Main Plaza in 1994 a burial from the Classic period was discovered under Building A. Tomb 49 revealed extraordinary examples of Maya paraphernalia, including various jade objects that are currently on display at the National Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology in Guatemala City. Meanwhile, a stone turtle covered with stucco and blue, white and black paint was found inside Building E; emerging from the jaws of the turtle is a human face, a characteristic motif of the latter days of the Maya civilisation.

Site description

The island measures 400×300 m and adopts the form of a half moon. It has nearly 100 constructions from the Middle Postclassic (up to AD 1450). The architectural spaces are organised on terraces around two raised sections. The most important part of the site is the group of buildings in the Main Plaza, which boasts the best preserved Postclassic buildings in the whole of Peten (buildings C, D, E and G). Here, the buildings had flat slabs of wood and lime cement, now lost, vertical stepped platforms and stairways with balustrades culminating in finial blocks. The facades have columns or pillars, and three or more entrances. Opposite the main buildings are platforms with stelae and smooth cylindrical altars.

Oscar Quintana Samayoa

From: ‘The Maya: an architectural and landscape guide’, produced jointly by the Junta de Andulacia and the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico, 2010, pp216-219.

Topoxte

Building A; 2. Building B; 3. Building C; 4. Building D; 5. Building E; 6. Building F; 7. Building G; 8. Building H; 9. Building I; 10. Building J.

How to get there:

Topoxte can only be visited as part of a visit to Yaxja. After leaving the National Park entrance you have to take the left hand fork at the first junction which takes you down to the lakeside. You will probably have to get the guardians at the Yaxja site to call in advance so there is someone to operate the launch. Topoxte is on a small island on the far side of the lake. The launch will wait as you explore the small site. The site is really only one square about a 10 minute walk from the dock.

GPS:

17d 03’ 47” N

89d 25’ 24” W

Entrance:

Is effectively ‘free’ but you have to pay for the launch. I was charged Q200.

More on the Maya

Yaxha – Guatemala

Posted on 29/08/2023 by Michael

Yaxja

More on the Maya

Yaxha – Guatemala

Location

Yaxha was one of the most beautiful cities built by the Maya, not only because of its hilltop location overlooking large expanses of land, but also because of the exquisite proportions of its public plazas. It is situated on the north shore of Lake Yaxha, which forms part of a chain of lakes and water masses in the central region of Peten. Nowadays, it is a well preserved park and many of the buildings have been restored. The archaeological area belongs to the Yaxha-Nakum-Naranjo Cultural Triangle, which gained National Park status in November 2003. It has the maximum legal protection, has had its own administration since 2005 and it charges an admission fee. Visitors enter the site from the east, accessing Plaza C. From there, continue along the Galindo Causeway to Plaza B and the East Acropolis. After these, a group of stepped plazas lead to the core area of the city. There are rest areas and rooms, trails and signs to orient visitors. In 2006 several stelae that had suffered erosion and deterioration were replaced by replicas and the originals are now on display in the visitor centre at the archaeological camp. This part of the site comprises a camping area with a shop selling basic items. To reach the site, take the asphalt road from Flores to Melchor de Mencos (on the Belizean border) and at the town of La Maquina, at marker 62 km, there is a well signposted turn-off onto the 8 km dirt track that leads to the park entrance and Yaxha.

Site description

The city measures 3 km from east to west and boasts over 500 monumental constructions. In the core area are three groups of tall buildings (the North Acropolis, North-east Acropolis and South Acropolis, the latter with six interior courtyards), two ball courts, an astronomical complex (the elongated building on the east side measures 160 m), four plazas with stelae, various vias or streets and other constructions. One via leads from the core area south to the lake (the Lake Causeway); another horizontal causeway, 260 m long, leads north to the Maler Group. This via is composed of containment walls that form a dyke between two plazas with buildings at the same height (the Blom Causeway).

Two additional causeways connect the core area of the site to the East Group (East Causeway and Lincoln Causeway). This part of the city is the highest and is formed by several groups of buildings and a plaza with twin pyramids (Plaza A), the only one of its type outside Tikal. This group is composed of two twin pyramids without temples, one on the east side and the other on the west side of a raised quadrangular space. Both pyramids have four stairways, one on each side. At the north end of the plaza is a building, now minus its roof, formed by walls with a single entrance; this is called the ‘sacred precinct’. Inside is an altar, without any inscriptions, and at one time there was probably also a stela. Situated south of this group is an elongated building. The north and south buildings have been partly restored, pyramid temple 216 in the East Acropolis is the highest point of the city and offers spectacular vistas over lakes Yaxha and Sacnab in the south and the great wetlands in the north.

Yaxha only had one building with visible architecture (Temple 216), which was restored between 1996 and 2002. Following over 15 years of controlled vegetation in plazas and buildings, based on the concept of landscape architecture, visitors can now enjoy the urban space, building 218 in the East Acropolis has also been restored, and other interventions were conducted in Plaza C, Plaza B, Plaza E, Ball Court 1, Courtyard 4 of the South Acropolis, the North Acropolis and the Maler Group.

Yaxha was occupied from the Late Preclassic, as evidenced by the giant masks on the buildings in the North Acropolis. The urban structure dates from the Terminal Classic. The city enjoyed considerable importance during the Classic period as an ally of Tikal, although it was conquered and burned three times by the neighbouring city of Naranjo, 20 km east, and was involved in the so-called ‘war of the stars’ waged against Tikal. In fact, the last ruler of Yaxha was sacrificed at Naranjo in AD 799.

Yaxha had 32 sculpted stelae, the most famous of which can be found in Plaza C (stelae 1 to 6). Stela 6 is currently in storage at the National Museum of Archaeology in Guatemala City. A replica of Stela 11 can be seen in Plaza B, as well as the greatly eroded Stela 36. A replica of Stela 13 can be seen in Plaza A and in Plaza E a replica of Stela 31, known as the Stela of the Birds.

Oscar Quintana Samayoa

From: ‘The Maya: an architectural and landscape guide’, produced jointly by the Junta de Andulacia and the Universidad Autonoma de Mexico, 2010, pp212-213

How to get there:

The entrance to the National Park is only 8km from the main road between Santa Elena and Melchor de Mencos (on the Guatemalan/Belize border) and there are many colectivos that ply that route so getting to the approach road is not a problem. However, it would be difficult to fine any transport for this short distance – and the entrance to the archaeological site is yet another two kilometres away. I ended up contracting a taxi from Melchor and that worked out well but not cheap. But then I’m not good at bargaining and others might be able to negotiate a better price.