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Beyond Augustine /Douglas Silva the ridges of the Maya Mountains rise
up to the south, while to the west is the wilderness of Vaca
plateau. Here the ruins of Caracol, the largest Maya site in
Belize, and one of the largest in the Maya world, were lost for
several centuries until their rediscovery in 1936. Two years later
they were explored by A.H. Anderson, who named the site Caracol -
Spanish for "snail" - because of the large numbers of snail shells
found there. In 1985 the first detailed, full-scale excavation of
the site, the "Caracol Project", began, and research continues
today, unearthing artifacts relating to everyday life at all levels
of Maya society.
The
site is open daily (8am-4pm; US$5) and you'll be guided on your
visit by one of the guards or, if excavation is in progress, by an
archeology student. The visitor centre is the best at any
Maya site in Belize and an essential first stop. There's a map of
the centre of the site and some excellent display panels, as well as
artifacts from the site. Only the core of the city, comprising
thirty-two large structures and twelve smaller ones grouped round
five main plazas, is open to visitors - though even this is far more
than you can effectively see in a day. At its greatest extent,
around 700 AD, during the Late Classic period, Caracol covered 88
square kilometers, with a population estimated to be around 150,000.
The largest pyramid, Canaa, is still one of the tallest
buildings in Belize, at 42m high.
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Over 100 tombs have been
found, some with painted texts decorating the walls, along with
ceremonially buried caches containing items as diverse as a quantity
of mercury and amputated human fingers. Hieroglyphic inscriptions
here have enabled epigraphers to piece together a virtually complete
dynastic record of Caracol's rulers from 599 AD, and glyphs carved
on altars tell of war between Caracol and Tikal, when control over a
vast area alternated between the two great cities. One altar records
a victory of Caracol over Tikal at 562 AD - a triumph that set the
seal on the city's rise to power. Caracol is also a haven for
wildlife (including tapirs, jaguars and ocelots), and birds,
among them the orange-breasted falcon and the very rare harpy eagle.
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