Altun Ha

Mayan ruins of Altun Ha, overview from the Temple of the Sun God

Altun Ha is a ruined city of the Maya . It is located approximately 45 kilometers north of Belize City in Belize and ten kilometers west of the Caribbean Sea . It is believed that the name Altun Ha means something like "water that comes from rocks".

The first traces of settlement in Altun Ha can be traced back to around 1000 BC. The site consists of two main plazas and a total of 300 documented buildings, including at least thirteen temples. Most of the buildings visible today were built in the so-called Classical Period . The relatively high number of buildings and rich grave goods indicate that Altun Ha benefited from the trade network between the coast and the inland.

The tallest temple in Altun Ha is about 16 meters high. One of the most important finds is a jade head 15 centimeters high and 4.5 kilograms, which represents the sun god K'inich Ajaw .

literature

• Nikolai Grube (Ed.): Maya. God kings in the rainforest . Könemann-Verlag, Cologne 2000. ISBN 3-8290-1564-X .
• Joyce Kelly: An Archaeological Guide to Northern Central America: Belize, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador. Univ. Of Oklahoma Pr., Norman 1996, ISBN 0-8061-2858-5 , pp. 45-51.

Web links

Commons : Altun Ha  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Wikivoyage: Altun Ha  - travel guide

• Altun Ha at guidetobelize.info

Coordinates: 17 ° 45 ′ 0 ″  N , 88 ° 20 ′ 0 ″  W.