AmbergrisCaye.com Home Forums Belize by District Cayo Xunantunich Maya Site

Drone Video of Xunantunich Maya Site in Belize

This is a video of Xunatunich just outside of San Ignacio Town.

Repairs on the ferry at the Xunantunich Archaeological Reserve are nearing completion. All this is being done to ensure the safety of our visitors to the site, making it easier on vehicular traffic across the Mopan River.

The public is informed that repairs to the Xunantunich Archaeological Site's Ferry have been completed and is now operating as normal.

Archaeologists Have Uncovered One of The Biggest Maya Tombs Ever

An international team of archaeologists working in Belize has uncovered one of the biggest royal Maya tombs ever, containing a male corpse, animal bones, obsidian blades, and hieroglyphic panels that offer new insights into the legendary 'snake dynasty'.

The team uncovered the tomb in Xunantunich, an ancient city in Western Belize that once served as a ceremonial centre for the Maya, under the stairway of a temple.

"In other words, it appears that the temple was purposely erected for the primary purpose of enclosing the tomb," team leader Jaime Awe from Northern Arizona University told Alan Yuhas from The Guardian. "Except for a very few rare cases, this is not very typical in ancient Maya architecture."

According to the team, the tomb was built for a 20- to 30-year-old muscular man, who must have been of some importance, though they're still trying to figure out more information about his life.

Alongside his remains, the researchers found the bones of a jaguar and a deer, jade beads that might have been a necklace, 13 obsidian blades, and 36 ceramic vessels. In another area of the tomb, they also found two 'offering caches' that contained nine obsidian blades and 28 flint figurines that were carved into various symbols and animals, Yuhas reports.

While finding a tomb is always exciting for archaeologists, this one is particularly special, because it's one of the biggest Maya tombs ever found in Belize, measuring in at 4.5 metres (14.7 feet) by 2.4 metres (7.9 feet).

"What's amazing about the discovery of this tomb is that we know that archaeologists have been working at Xunantunich since the 1890s," Awe told Julia Arzu from The Reporter.

"That's more than a century of continuous archaeological work at the site. And, never before have we found a tomb. Well, this tomb is also remarkable in other ways, it is one of the largest burial chambers we have ever found."

The most important find inside the tomb could be the inscribed panels featuring hieroglyphics related to the so-called snake dynasty - a family that ruled the Maya empire some 1,300-years-ago, and used a snake-head emblem as their symbol.

The team's epigrapher, Christophe Helmke from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, says these panels tell of the conquests of Lord K'an II - the ruler of the ancient city of Caracol, which was located roughly 41 kilometres (26 miles) south of the tomb.

But, oddly enough, the hieroglyphics might also reveal another king from the snake dynasty named Waxaklajuun Ubaah K'an, who likely ruled sometime around 635 AD. The team says this find suggests that there could have been two kings - possibly brothers - vying for the throne.

"This means that there were two contenders to the throne, both carrying the same dynastic title, which appears to have been read Kanu'l Ajaw, 'King of the place where snakes abound'," Helmke told The Guardian.

With the help of these panels, the researchers hopes to glean more information about the snake dynasty, and by piecing together the royal family's history, they might also shed new light on the fall of the entire Maya civilisation.

The team's findings have been published in the Journal of the Pre-Columbian Art Research Institute.

ScienceAlert.com

Xunantunich, 360VR

I can't see this in Mac Safari or Firefox, but it works in Google Chrome....
Nice video. 14 minutes

Exploring Xunantunich - Cayo District, Belize
Xunantunich was once a great seat of Maya power in Belize. Today, it is one of the country's most accessible ruins, only a short distance from San Ignacio.


Xunantunich Adventure
In this video we had breakfast at Bambu Tea & Coffee Santa Elena branch. If you are looking for a cute place that has a chill vibe, this is definitely the spot. They have delicious drinks and baked goodies. The ambiance is amazing and they have very cute decor for a lil photo session.

We then went to Branch Mouth wooden cable bridge. It connects the village to the towns over the Mopan River. It is a unique spot because here two rivers meet, to form another main river. We have the Mopan River and the Macal River coming together to form the Belize River. It is a nice spot to swim (if you're a good swimmer). Fun Fact: In the recent flooding that took place last year, the bridge was torn down by the high rising of the river along with the force of the flood waters.

After we left Branch Mouth Bridge, we drove further west (couples miles from the Guatemalan Border and about 70 miles from Belize City) to visit the Mayan Archeological Site, Xunantunich, which means Stone Lady. Pronounced in various ways, Xunantunich in the Mayan language means "Sculpture of Lady" or "Stone Lady" from the Mopan term "Xunan" (noble lady) and Yucatec term "Tuunich" (sculpturing stone). Xunantunich is often referred to as the "Stone Woman" however as reports of a ghostly woman in white with fiery red eyes have been reported at the site for more than 100 years. It is the oldest continuously excavated Maya site in the country. It is known as "El Castillo" (The Castle), it is covered in elaborately carved friezes, and remains the second-tallest tallest man-made structures in Belize.

========================


Xunantunich Mayan Ruin Adventure
My favorite Mayan ruin has always been Xunantunich, and I am so grateful I was able to visit the "Stone Lady" on my last trip. Belize is rich in history, has a diverse population with a mix of cultures, and traditions kind of like a really amazing stew. I take pride to have been exposed to this knowledge and way of life at a very young age. Not to many people can say they went to a Mayan temple to explore and see what was once a functional city, and village where thousands once inhabited.

========================


Xunantunich Mayan Ruins San Ignacio
Quick tours on the ferry crossing to the shopping outside the park entrance, enjoy

The Belize Tourism Board has a short video out to kick off their new 'Grab Life' marketing campaign. Xunantunich Archaeological Reserve is in it, from below and above.

Roam with us to the Mayan Ruins of Xunantunich in Belize!

We took an excursion from our cruise ship into Belize. We took a bus across the country to the Mayan ruins of Xunantunich ("Shoe-nan-two-nitch," more or less).

We took a long (but lovely and informative) bus ride, followed by an awesome tour through the ruins. Join us on our tour to learn about this Mayan civilization! Next, we stopped for lunch before hopping back on the bus.

Our tour guide was great, and we had an amazing time! She told us that Belize relies a lot on tourism, so I am not sure how they have fared during Covid. When you get a chance to travel, be sure to make time for Belize! Seeing Xunantunich on a screen cannot compare to being there in real life...hearing the bugs...seeing the monkeys and bats...feeling the sunshine...actually touching the history!

Not to mention how many calories you'll burn!

======================


Exploring Xunantunich in the Cayo district of Belize
This was an awesome opportunity to step back over 1000 years in history! One of the most interesting things is that there are so many ruins that have yet to be excavated.

=====================

Nice blog post on Sunantunich....

EXPLORING THE MAYAN RUINS OF XUNANTUNICH
https://wanderincolor.com/2021/11/exploring-the-mayan-ruins-of-xunantunich/

=======================


Xunantunich & Cahal Pech

Xunantunich Maya Ruins in Belize
We took a vacation to Belize recently and had the chance to take a tour of Xunantunich an Ancient Maya archaeological site. It was a fantastic experience, and I would definitely recommend a trip to one of the many archeological sites if you are in Belize.


The Xunantunich Maya Ruins in San Ignacio Belize are not to be missed!
One of Belize's most popular Maya sites. Located about 80 miles west of Belize City in Cayo District near the town of San Ignacio and the border with Guatemala, Xunantunich is most famously known for the large temple known today as El Castillo (Spanish for "The Castle") which is more than 130 feet tall (30 meters) making it the second-tallest building in Belize. We had to go and see this beautiful piece of art!


Xunantunich & Cahal Pech

Revisiting the Ancient Maya World at Xunantunich

The Xunantunich Archaeological Site has been among Belize's favourite tourist attractions, particularly because of the splendor that one experiences when they ascend atop El Castillo - the tallest ancient building in the country. But did you know that when the Classic Mayas occupied the site and conducted their rituals there, it had a different name? In this week's edition of Belize on Reel and on the occasion of International Day of Archaeology, News Five presents a feature on Xunantunich. Marion Ali reports.

Marion Ali, Reporting
Archaeological revelations date its most prosperous years to between nine hundred and twelve hundred A.D., also known as the Classic Period.  But it wasn’t until this century that excavators uncovered the temples that constitute the Xunantunich Maya site. Frank Tzib is an epigrapher from San Antonio Village, Cayo. He reconstructs, decodes and dates hieroglyphics from the Classic Mayas. And he explains that Xunantunich is not the original name for the site we visited today.

Frank Tzib, Epigrapher, San Antonio, Cayo

"The original name for Xunantunich is Katyatzwitz, which is clay mountain. Here we have (showing symbols)."

Marion Ali

"How did it change to Xunantunich?"

Frank Tzib

"This was the ancient name, right. When the writing system died, Xunantunich collapsed, no one knew about the name. The ancient Mayas left all of that, even the name."

But there is also a lore surrounding the present name of the site.

Frank Tzib

"There were some hunters that came here and they said they saw a lady there so they said stone lady, so Xunan, which is lady, Tunich is rock, so lady of the rock."

There is another interesting revelation that many of us probably did not know about Xunantunich.

Dr. Melissa Badillo, Director, Institute of Archaeology

"People were actually living in this centre. We have evidence of hieroglyphs and graffiti in several buildings which we didn't know before so people were actually utilizing these spaces and recording events all across time."

Elfego Panti was only ten years old when Xunantunich was opened to the public in 1950, and the site would become a primary means of his livelihood as a caretaker and a tour guide. Natural deterioration over the decades has required a degree of restoration.

Elfego Panti, Former Caretaker, Xunantunich

"The main building, the doorways, walls and the arches all that have been reconstructed, yeah, reinforced. The biggest one is El Castillo - The Castle and it measures one hundred and thirty feet high and that is the main building that has seen most of the restoration."

But Mother Nature sometimes prevents access to the site. The nearby river, according to Panti, can raise high enough to force closure of the access ferry to Xunantunich.

Elfego Panti

"It's a yearly problem, the rainy season - just recently you hear on the news that there's a big flood. That happens almost every year, a few years. For many years the river (level) has gone up."

But closure due to flooding is not the only problem at the archaeological site. According to the Director of the Institute of Archaeology, Dr Melissa Badillo, agricultural expansions have also led to permanent losses of some of Belize's patrimony.

Dr. Melissa Badillo

"There's a lot of agriculture development in the country and it poses a great challenge for us because it means that land is being cleared and sometimes irrespective of whatever is on the property. From recent surveys that we've been able to do with the use of Lidar technology, we see that Maya mounds are scattered across the entire country of Belize, so without a doubt there has to be some destruction but we are striving to get to that balance."

To promote the message about the importance of archaeological sites and their link to Belize's tourism, Dr. Badillo says the Institute of Archaeology conducts open fairs as it did today at Xunantunich.

Dr Melissa Badillo

"The factors – sustainable development, climate change, climate factors - all those the Mayas were faced with as well but they were able to utilize the landscape, utilize the natural resources to their advantage. But again it reached a point where it could not be sustained so we saw the decline of their civilization, so we should take into consideration those factors because the same applies today."

Sylvia Batty is the Director of Heritage Education Network Belize, a non-government organization that promotes archaeology in Belize. They engage in showcasing archaeology as a fun topic.

Sylvia Batty, Director of Heritage Education Network, Belize

"What we do is find creative ways to engage students, to engage the public…so what we did is we wrote…this book is actually based at Xunantunich. 0All of these small pieces of stone tools still tell us information…they were making pieces like this."

Aside from the effort to preserve the relics of the past, however, Tzib creates his own pieces like a personal hieroglyph to document his family's migration to their present home.

Frank Tzib

"I decided, why not do something as the ancient Mayas would do and commemorate a rock? So we went to live at our place in 2010 and 2010 I carved this out. We start with the introductory phrase, which is Eyut - and then it happened, you know, the Mayas were very poetic. And then it happened December tenth, 2010, the Tzib family came to live here, in San Antonio."

And while there are now three groups of Mayas in this region, originally, there was only one Maya people with one language.

Frank Tzib

"Yucatec Mayas came from the north, Mopan and K'ekchi' came from the west, which is from Guatemala. This is not referring to the groups we have now specifically but this is an ancient language, which we call Classic Maya."

Channel 5