Archaeological sites located within Belize

The Maya ruins of Belize include a number of well-known and historically important pre-Columbian Maya archaeological sites. Belize is considered part of the southern Maya lowlands of the Mesoamerican culture area. Some of these are:

Caracol

Caracol was center of one of the largest Maya kingdoms and today contains the extant remains of thousands of structures, is a largest ancient Maya site located in the Cayo District-Belize, at an elevation of 1500 feet above sea-level, in the foothills of the Maya Mountains. Caracol is Spanish name for "The Snail"; the ancient Maya name may have been Oxhuitza. Large numbers of these creatures found at the site on its visitation, so as named Caracol. One monument here records a military victory over the army of Tikal in 562CE, where Caracol's Lord Water is shown to have captured and sacrificed Tikal's Double Bird. This event is seemingly concurrent with archaeological and epigraphic evidence indicating the beginning of the Tikal Mid-Classic Hiatus.

Cerros

The site of Cerros a unique structural complex found in Maya architecture, located on Chetumal Bay in northern Belize, is one of the earliest Maya sites.

Lamanai

Lamanai a longest continually-occupied site in Mesoamerica located on the New River in Orange Walk District-Belize. The settlement on Lamanai occurred during the Early Preclassic, and continuously occupied through the colonization of the area. During the Spanish conquest of Yucatán, the conquistadores established a Roman Catholic Church, the extant remains of which are still standing today.</p> Tourists can visit Lamanai by organised day boat trips from Orange Walk Town along the New River. There is a museum which exhibits local artefacts and provides historical overview. Tourist facilities and small shops are available.

The High Temple is an ancient temple at Lamanai Mayan ruins in Belize. The highest exposed height of 33 meters can be climbed in the presence of a tour guide allowing the view to see over the jungle and to see a large portion of the New River

The Mask Temple is the smallest of three excavated temple, a site of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization.

Actun Tunichil Muknal

A The Crystal Maiden Actun Tunichil Muknal is a cave near San Ignacio Cayo in Belize, notable for its skeletons, ceramics, and stoneware. Entry to the cave is made by walk through a river and finally scrambling above the water level. "The Crystal Maiden" is the most famous of the human remains, a skeleton of a teenage girl the bones of which have been completely covered by the natural processes of the cave, leaving them with a sparkling appearance. There are several such skeletons in the Main Chamber.
The ceramics here are significant partly because they are marked with "kill holes" indicating that they were used for ceremonial purposes.