Altun Ha

About

Founded around 200 BC, Altun Ha developed into a major trade center before being abandoned around 1000 AD. Despite its stones being used to build the nearby village of Rockstone Pond, Altun Ha wasn’t brought to the attention of archaeologists until 1963 when villagers unearthed a massive jade amulet. Since then, Altun Ha has been restored into one of the most iconic Mayan sites in Belize. Though “only” two ceremonial plazas have been excavated, they share nearly 500 structures between them. Plaza A is dominated by the “Temple of the Green Tomb”. Plaza B is home to Belize’s best-known Mayan temple: the 17-meter-tall “Temple of the Masonry Altars”. Along with being the main ceremonial site, the temple served as the mausoleum for Altun Ha’s high priests. One tomb provided the single most precious Mayan artefact ever found in Belize: a six-inch high solid jade carving of the head of the Maya Sun God, KinichAhau.