Altun Ha-- the jewel of Belize, Plaza B

Everytime I start writing a post, it seems to become so long that I am forced to split it into two. I feel like sharing whatever I have seen or learnt on my visits. As we move to plaza B which is the highlight of Altun Ha, writing a separate post became a must.

Plaza B:
This plaza is quite different from Plaza A . Apart from B4 or the Temple of Masonry Altar which was the place where most excavation was done, not much is known about other structures in this plaza or they need more excavation.

structures of plaza A and plaza B from top of Temple of Masonary Altars

Temple of Masonry Altars or the Sun God's Temple:
This is the most important and imposing structure in this plaza. It was the center and several tombs were discovered in this temple. This is the structure which is associated with Altun Ha in most pictures.

Temple of Masonry Altars 

temple on BZE$ 2 bill and beer 

The temple rises 54 feet from the ground. Its construction probably began in 550 A.D.and the last addition to it was made in 600-650 A.D. Excavations prove that the temple was modified or altered eight times. There are stairs on the side for those interested in going to the top.

Climb up the stairway to get a wonderful view of Plaza A.

view of Plaza A structures

Pyramids in Maya structures:

Two types of pyramids or temples were made during Mayan times. Both had steep steps to climb and were built for ceremonial purposes or for the Gods. Both had platforms at top.

One type had steps for the priest to climb up to make ceremonial sacrifices to gods. They were steep but not that they could not be climbed. There would be an altar or some place to conduct religious ceremonies.

The second type had even steeper steps and could be climbed with a lot of effort. They would be reserved for gods only.

Here, in this temple we see the first sacrificial place with a round altar at top.

the altar where ceremonial services and bloodletting were done

In the center of terrace is a round ceremonial altar. Mayans believed in nature worship and performed rituals. Jade and copal (incense wood) used to be thrown in blazing fire. Most of these rituals took place high above for people to see and only the high priest or people of importance were permitted to climb up.

Apart from this ritual, the altar was also used for bloodletting and human sacrifices. Common methods of sacrifices performed were removal of beating heart from a living person of a virgin girl, child or enemy and their blood was allowed to flow down the steps of the temple.
Also the practice of shooting victim with arrows, decapitation, disembowelment, putting the subject into a sinkhole were also followed. Sometimes self-sacrifice, in which the person volunteered and used stingray spine for blood letting was conducted.

Kinich Ahau or the Sun God:

 Kinich Ahau on side of temple

 on right side of temple

 somewhat visible Kinich Ahau in the center

on left side of temple, the upper figure is much clearer

The temple also served as a burial place but for only high priest or people of high social order. Seven such tombs were found here, most of them empty, probably looted and filled with soil but one tomb revealed unusual finds.

The crypt in which was found Kinich Ahau and stairs leading to top on left of picture

view of crypt from above

the other crypt

pictorial representation of the tomb

Inside the crypt was found a tomb  of an elderly priest or a Mayan King dated 600-650 A.D. along with Belize's priceless treasure --- a six inch high, ten pound, jade head of the Sun God, Kinich Ahau! This has been the biggest find of any jade object of Mayan art as yet.

It was placed on the right side of the skeleton. Other objects along with this were pottery vessels, flints, shell beads, bracelets, beads. 

What is Kinich Ahau? The word in Mayan means "Sun face Lord"
Kin: sun
Ich: face
Ahau: lord

The word in Mayan means "Sun face Lord"

So, Kinich Ahua was the Sun God who would make the sun rise everyday for Mayans in morning and bring down the sun in evenings. He visited them everyday and would come down in the form of a parrot to take offerings from them.
He was the god of healing.

graphical representation inside the crypt

side view of jade Kinich Ahau

The original jade head is kept in a vault at Belize Central Bank.

It is said to be a made of one large solid piece of jade. Belize is not home to jade and it was imported from Motagua River Valley region of Guatamala.

Also jade is not a soft stone, so it must have taken a long time to etch out the features. The fact that jade was precious used in ceremonies indicates that the person must not be an ordinary one.

Along with Kinich Ahau, two other gods of importance: Chaac (god of rain) and Yum Kax (god of corn) were also found.

model of jade Kinich Ahau which was found here at the museum 

This find has become a symbol on all bank notes of Belize dollars.

coming down the stairs from B4 or temple of Sun God

Past the souvenir shops we make our way out.

Much excavation needs to be done as is evident by the number of mounds in and around the place. Maybe generations to come might see things more exquisite and beautiful temples unearthed.

Entrance fee: BZ$10, locals and residents BZE$ 5
Timing: 0800 hours to 1700 hours. Most of the sites remain open on public holidays as well.

Altun Ha-- the jewel of Belize, Plaza A

Plenty of Maya temples exist in Belize, Altun Ha being closest to Belize city. Located 31 miles from Belize city, with Belize river flowing on the left, the ride is smooth apart from a small stretch of dusty road which is under construction. The road continues on to Mexico.

Although it is  a small temple in comparision to the other massive  ones but the excavation in one of its temples revealed Belize's national treasure---- the Jade Head.

Right turn from the main road past Lucky Strike village, apparently named after the famous brand of cigarettes, and later a very small village, Rockstone Pond village which is the boundary of Altun Ha brings you to the destination. Altun Ha is Yucatan Mayan name for "rockstone pond". A pond lies a little distance from plaza B.

Settlement in Altun Ha:
Archaeologists believe that the settlement started around 250 B.C. Construction started in 100 A.D. It enjoyed its peak period between 400 to 900 A.D.  By 1000 A.D it was simply abandoned probably due to revolt against the rulers by working class, or an internal revolt.

Many tombs in the Temple of Masonary Altar containing bodies of high priests were looted, the presence of oil and soot justifies this theory.
The place came to attention when a jade pendant was discovered nearby in 1963.

Stratagically situated only 6 miles from the Caribbean Sea, it was an important trade center. Large number of chert quarries have been found in the area.Chert is a hard rock with very sharp edges and was used to make stone tools, weapons and ceremonial items. Soon Altun Ha became the center controlling the chert production.

Apart from chert, jade, obsedian (a natural occuring volcanic glass) were the items exported from here. With export flourishing, people became very rich and enjoyed a wealthy lifestyle.

articles of trade 

As was a practice in Mayan tradition, human sacrifices were also perfromed, especially in the Temple of Sun God or the Temple of Masonry Altars.

A museum is situated on the left side, just before the entrance. I would suggest visiting it so that one can get a basic idea about the Maya life and rituals followed at that time. I found it quite informative. I have put pictures taken from the museum also.

Map indicating the placement of different temples

As the map shows, there are two plazas: A and B. 

Each plaza has temples and signs are put in front of each temple for visitors. 

Plaza A:

Since plaza A is just in front, we made our entry between A7 and A5, the place where arrow points in the map above. It has 7 pyramids or temples. Most Maya temples have a stelae (a stone slab) in front but here, at Altun Ha it is not present.

Right in front are three temples. A1, A2, and A3.

Most of the Maya temples once built were modified and expanded by succeeding generations. Every generation would either add or hide a part of construction by the preceeding generation. That is why Maya temples show construction over several layers and periods.

entering Plaza A

A1 or Temple of The Green Tomb:
This is the most important temple in plaza A. The temple shows construction and modifications over the 5th and 6th century A.D.

Inside this temple a tomb containing either a ruler or a high priest was found  hidden deep.  It dated to 550 A.D. and contained almost 300 jade objects inside. "Green tomb" gets its name from the green color of jade. Apart from jade objects, ornaments, shell jewelry, sting ray spines - which were used in blood letting- skins, cloth, wooden objects, pottery vessels were found.
Mayans produced plenty of books called codices. Remains of one such book was found made of bark paper. The book is concerned with ritual practices, and various Maya gods.

on top of  the temple

excavated portions

A2 and A3:

 A2

This temple is connected to A1. It was once a free building.

A3

view of plaza B and Temple of Masonry Altar from A3.

view from A1

A3 has broad steps leading to the top. It is almost like A1. The steps are plastered and form  platforms in between.

A4

A4 is on the south-east side of plaza A and does not have any structure on top of it. It probably served as a boundary between the two plazas.

A5, A6, A7:
Nothing much is known about these structures. Infact, the platfroms on top are so small and narrow that it does not seem that anything important used to happen there.

A5, a huge all spice peppercorn tree grows on the mound

Our guide told us that his grandmother who is a Mayan, used to go to forest to get allspice tree leaves. They used to chew them in case of a toothache.

climbing A6

A6 is the tallest structure in Altun Ha but it remains under a huge mound. Probably further excavation might reveal something important one day!

climb to the top to get an excellent view of Plaza B

You get a good view of plaza A and B from here.

A7

A7 was just a mound.

The Rock Pond:
Before climbing up the Temple of Masonry Altars we proceeded to the pond. On the left side of temple, a track leads to pond. A 10 minute walk on cobbled path with Cuhune palm trees on either side leads to the pond.

 path with cuhune palms

Cuhune palm was very much valued by Mayans and can be see all over Belize. The leaves being fire proof were used in thatching houses.

The most sought after part is heart of the palm. It is soft and the very delicious.

Cuhune nuts

Cuhune oil is extracted from these nuts and is used as an edible oil. It is a much preferred oil for cooking but being more expensive very few people use it. The extraction of oil is more labor intensive as compared to other oils. Bottles of this oil are seen on the side of road on way to Altun Ha.
The huge palm fronds were used to make roof for houses.

The pond or reservoir supplied water to inhabitants of Altun Ha. The pond is said to be cemented with a yellow clay to stop seepage of water into the soil.
The water when we visited, was green and murky and it was difficult to see the floor of reservoir.

We watched the birds for sometime and then retraced our steps to Plaza B and to the most important temple in Altun Ha, The Temple of Masonry Altars.