MAYA ARCHAELOGICAL SITE OF BELIZE
Historical Context
Cahal Pech is a major Maya centre located on a hill overlooking the town of San Ignacio. The name of the site is a combination of Yucatec and Mopan Maya meaning "Place of Ticks", a name given to the site in the 1950's when the area around it was used for pasture.
Work conducted by Belizean archaeologist, Jaime Awe, in 1988 investigated a total of 10 mounds within 6 of the 7 courtyard groups at the site. Preliminary analysis of data recovered from these excavations indicate that Cahal Pech was settled by 1000 B.C. and abandoned around 800 A.D. The discovery of several large, Late Preclassic (300 B.C. - 250 A.D.) temples directly beneath Middle Classic (500 - 700 A.D.) modifications also suggests that these were the periods of greatest development at the site.
The Site
The central precinct of Cabal Pech is situated on an imposing acropolis on the west bank of the Macal River, with a panoramic view of San Ignacio town and the Belize River Valley. The site centre consists of 34 structures compacted in a small area covering slightly more than 2 acres. The majority of these structures are located around 7 courtyards and include temple pyramids and several long-range, residential-type buildings. The tallest temple is Structure A- I which stands 77 feet high. The site also contains 2 ball courts, 5 plain stelae, I altar and possibly a sweat-house.
The central precinct of Cabal Pech is situated on an imposing acropolis on the west bank of the Macal River, with a panoramic view of San Ignacio town and the Belize River Valley. The site centre consists of 34 structures compacted in a small area covering slightly more than 2 acres. The majority of these structures are located around 7 courtyards and include temple pyramids and several long-range, residential-type buildings. The tallest temple is Structure A- I which stands 77 feet high. The site also contains 2 ball courts, 5 plain stelae, I altar and possibly a sweat-house.
Archaeological Work
While we do not know the exact date of its discovery, reports of the site go back as early as the 1950's. At this time Linton Satterthwaite of the University Museum of Pennsylvania did some preliminary mapping and excavation of the centre. Unfortunately, except for two paragraphs in a 1951 publication, Satterthwaite never published a report of the work he conducted.
A few years later (1953-55) Gordon Willey of Harvard University visited the site during his study of the settlement of the Belize River Valley. Although he did not carry out any investigations, Willey subsequently wrote a very brief description of the site in his Belize Valley Report (1965).
During the 1960's, Belize's first archaeological commissioner, A.H. Anderson, visited the site on several occasions. Because of its easy access and ideal location, Anderson recommended to the government that the site be left unaffected by private lands and that the centre and its periphery be developed as a National Park. Anderson's recommendations, however, were never implemented.
In 1969 Peter Schmidt, having recently arrived in Belize to take over the post of Archaeological Commissioner a year after the death of Anderson, conducted a small salvage operation following his investigation of looting at the site. His work concentrated on a royal tomb within a large temple (Str. B-1) in the central plaza (Plaza B). Here a Late Classic (600 -700 A.D.) ruler had been laid to rest with a number of onate jade objects, obsidian blades, shell and bone ornaments plus several pottery vessels. The most magnificent find was a jade and shell mosaic mask which probably formed the centre piece of an elaborate belt worn by the noble interred in the grave. Schmidt, like his predecessors, never published a report of this work. Nonetheless, the artifacts he recovered from the tomb may still be seen in the National Collection at Belmopan.
Between 1970 and 1985 the site was vandalized on numerous occasions by looters. The destruction caused by these activities became a major concern to the San Ignacio Town Board and the Cayo Branch of the Belize Tourism and Industry Association who recognized the site's cultural value and its potential as a tourist attraction. After several requests for help from the latter group, Jaime Awe eventually organized the first major archaeological investigation of the site in 1988. This project, funded jointly by the Canadian Commission for UNESCO and Trent University, drafted a detailed map of the site, surveyed and demarcated an area to be declared as a National Park, and excavated several of the larger structures at the site. Awe and the Belize Tourism Association hope to continue excavating and developing the site if funds for the continuation of the project become available.
While we do not know the exact date of its discovery, reports of the site go back as early as the 1950's. At this time Linton Satterthwaite of the University Museum of Pennsylvania did some preliminary mapping and excavation of the centre. Unfortunately, except for two paragraphs in a 1951 publication, Satterthwaite never published a report of the work he conducted.
A few years later (1953-55) Gordon Willey of Harvard University visited the site during his study of the settlement of the Belize River Valley. Although he did not carry out any investigations, Willey subsequently wrote a very brief description of the site in his Belize Valley Report (1965).
During the 1960's, Belize's first archaeological commissioner, A.H. Anderson, visited the site on several occasions. Because of its easy access and ideal location, Anderson recommended to the government that the site be left unaffected by private lands and that the centre and its periphery be developed as a National Park. Anderson's recommendations, however, were never implemented.
In 1969 Peter Schmidt, having recently arrived in Belize to take over the post of Archaeological Commissioner a year after the death of Anderson, conducted a small salvage operation following his investigation of looting at the site. His work concentrated on a royal tomb within a large temple (Str. B-1) in the central plaza (Plaza B). Here a Late Classic (600 -700 A.D.) ruler had been laid to rest with a number of onate jade objects, obsidian blades, shell and bone ornaments plus several pottery vessels. The most magnificent find was a jade and shell mosaic mask which probably formed the centre piece of an elaborate belt worn by the noble interred in the grave. Schmidt, like his predecessors, never published a report of this work. Nonetheless, the artifacts he recovered from the tomb may still be seen in the National Collection at Belmopan.
Between 1970 and 1985 the site was vandalized on numerous occasions by looters. The destruction caused by these activities became a major concern to the San Ignacio Town Board and the Cayo Branch of the Belize Tourism and Industry Association who recognized the site's cultural value and its potential as a tourist attraction. After several requests for help from the latter group, Jaime Awe eventually organized the first major archaeological investigation of the site in 1988. This project, funded jointly by the Canadian Commission for UNESCO and Trent University, drafted a detailed map of the site, surveyed and demarcated an area to be declared as a National Park, and excavated several of the larger structures at the site. Awe and the Belize Tourism Association hope to continue excavating and developing the site if funds for the continuation of the project become available.
Locale and Access
Although work at Cahal Pech is still at a preliminary stage, visitors can experience the full range of archaeological investigations of a Maya centre. The site is also within a beautiful jungle-type environment which is the home for many colourful birds and exotic plants. This dramatic contrast between the town and the jungle, which are in such close proximity, makes Cahal Pech a unique place to visit. In only a few minutes walk a person leaves the hustle and bustle of present-day San Ignacio and enters an atmosphere where life remains in its natural state and ancient monuments become silent testimony of a vigorous civilization that once was.
There are no facilities at the site, which is a 10 minute walk south of the Benque Viejo junction of the Western Highway.
Although work at Cahal Pech is still at a preliminary stage, visitors can experience the full range of archaeological investigations of a Maya centre. The site is also within a beautiful jungle-type environment which is the home for many colourful birds and exotic plants. This dramatic contrast between the town and the jungle, which are in such close proximity, makes Cahal Pech a unique place to visit. In only a few minutes walk a person leaves the hustle and bustle of present-day San Ignacio and enters an atmosphere where life remains in its natural state and ancient monuments become silent testimony of a vigorous civilization that once was.
There are no facilities at the site, which is a 10 minute walk south of the Benque Viejo junction of the Western Highway.
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