- El Baúl
El Baúl is a
Pre-Columbian archaeological site in present-dayGuatemala . El Baúl, along with the sites of Bilbao and El Castillo, is part of theCotzumalhuapa Nuclear Zone.The El Baúl acropolis is located 4 km north of
Santa Lucía Cotzumalguapa , 550 metres above sea level, and 50 km from the Pacific. Its southern acropolis complex was destroyed in 1997 by an urbanization of this city, and the main groups are now sugar cane fields. the Ball Court is Located 500 mt north of the Acrópolis with several residential groups in between, united by 2 causeways. Its geologic context is volcanic: the Fuego volcano is active and located just north of the site. This site shows monumental architecture in its acropolis as well as a sweet house and obsidian workshops. Analysis of these deposits is particularly important for the study of the ancient obsidian industry. The P31 stratigraphic pit continued below these deposits to a depth of 3.78 meters, revealingvolcanic ash layers derived from the adjacent Fuego volcano. Obsidiandebitage continued below these ash layers, suggesting that the area was used as a refuse deposit for a prolonged period.The largest causeway is 2.5 km long and ranging from 11 to 14 metres wide, to communicate the acropolis of Bilbao and El Baúl. Before entering El Baúl, the causeway ran across a large bridge over the
Santiago River gorge. The foundation walls of the bridge, which most probably sustained a wooden structure, are still visible along a 30-meter span of the river course. An excavation carried out on the western side of the river gorge revealed two constructional stages for the causeway at this location, both of which date to the Late Classic period. Many monumental sculptures have been found along the causeways.External links
* [http://www.authenticmaya.com/Cotzumalguapa.htm El Baúl and surrounding sites, history and photo gallery]
References
* [http://www.Famsi.org Famsi.org]
* [http://www.authenticmaya.com AuthenticMaya.com]
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