Tour Description
The
minor Maya ceremonial center of Xunantunich is spectacularly perched on a hill over-looking the
Belize River. Xunantunich, meaning "stone woman" in Mayan, has a
commanding view of the entire upper Belize River valley. The largest pyramid,
El Castillo, rises a towering 130 feet above the main plaza, and more than 250
feet above the river valley below. This main temple is visible from all parts
of the valley today.
The site of Xunantunich has been the
center of archaeological attention for
over 100 years beginning in the 1880's. Unfortunately, some of the very early
excavation techniques included the use of dynamite. Some of the depressions on
top of the temple could possibly be the result of using these damaging
excavation techniques.
Data
from the numerous excavations at this site reveal that Xunantunich was a thriving
city near the end of the Classic Period and very close in time to the collapse
of the entire Mayan Civilization. This is intriguing because the collosal city
of Tikal, a few 10's of miles to the west, was already abandoned at this time. Restricted
in space probably due to being placed on the hilltop, the center of Xunantunich occupies an area less
than a square kilometer. The elite and middle working class residential
structures spread only a few kilometers into the surrounding hillsides. The
center is composed of six major plazas surrounded by more than 25 temples and
palaces.
The
large pyramid, El Castillo, is well known for the frieze or band of stucco
decoration which at one time extended around the entire temple. Archaeologists
have been slowly examining and restoring the frieze. The carved elements are
signs. The mask with the "big ears" and ear ornaments represent the
sun god. Next to that is the sign for the moon, and then a border of signs
which represent Venus and the different Mayan days. There is also an
unidentified headless man who was deliberately beheaded by the Maya for somereason.
Xunantunich
has never been systematically excavated. As mentioned earlier, the earliest investigations
relied on dynamite to recover Mayan artifacts. These same
"researchers" uncovered and removed vast quantities of burial goods,
as well as some carved hieroglyphs in 1924. The whereabouts of these carvings
is still unknown. Over
the years, many archaeologists have left their mark at Xunantunich. Many small excavations took
place during the years of 1938, 1949, 1952, 1957, 1959, 1968, 1971, 1978 and
1980. All of these expeditions were separate and independent. Finally, in the
early 1990's a concerted, systematic excavation was begun. New friezes have
been uncovered on El Castillo,and some consolidation of the main temple is
currently taking place.
To date, eight stelae and two altars
have been found in the central group. Normally,
stelae display carved date glyphs. But the high ratio of plain stelae suggests
that they might have been coated with plaster and the glyphs painted onto or
incised into the plaster which has now weathered away. Two carved stelae were
found at the base of one of the main temples, both knocked down possibly by
trees. Unfortunately one of the stelae fell face up and all the carvings were
weathered away.
Recently, a beautiful museum has been built
on-site. Three dimensional
models of the entire site have been constructed, as well as displays showing
the evolution of the Mayan Civilization, and how Xunantunich fits into the
picture archaeologists are constructing of these people. Some of the stelae
from the site are now protected and on display at the museum. |
