Archaeological Site: La Honradez, the jewel of the Mayan Past hidden deep in the jungle

La Honradez is an archaeological site of the Maya civilization in the far northeastern region of Petén, in Guatemala, close to the border with modern-day Belize. It is also known as Corozal. Dated in the Post-Classic Era, between 500 and 800 CE, it has five building structures determined to be pyramids, ten stelae, two causeways and two plazas, one of them a Ballcourt where the ancient game of the Maya was held. It also has a number of friezes and masks discovered in buried structures. But the site has been abandoned by the government, and looted severely, due to its distance from civilization. The heart of La Honradez is a large plaza, approximately 90 m east-west and 65 m north-south, in which all the stelae found at the site were set. The largest structure, A-21, also known as Templo del Rey Jaguar Jaguar King Temple forms the east side of the plaza, rising to a height of 17.5 m. Stela 9 was found on its stairway, and on top the walls of a temple can be distinguished among the rubble. It is the area south of the main plaza that holds the most complex and impressive groups at La Honradez. Structures A-26 and A-27, though badly ruined, rise 17.5 m and form the dominant feature of the south side of the plaza. Structure A-29 remains in much better condition. Several chambers of the temple are intact, and there is a mask carved on the north side. The front of the structure, however, has collapsed.

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