Lubaantun Mayan Ruins

The Mayan ruins of Lubaantun lie 1.3 miles northwest of the village of San Pedro Columbia. The city flourished in the Maya Classic era, from the AD 730 to 860, and archaeologists believe that it was an administrative and ceremonial center. Now the site is a beautiful spot to explore, with a serene jungle setting and few other tourists around.

Lubaantun is the largest Maya site of southern Belize, composed of eleven large structures, five main plazas, and three ball courts. The structures of Lubaantun are built with limestone blocks and rounded corners. An unusual method of mortarless construction was used here, with stone blocks cut to interlock with each other like puzzle pieces.

In the early 1900s Dr. Thomas Gann, an amateur archaeologist, began minor excavations at the site and named it Lubaantun (Place of the Fallen Stones’ in a modern Mayan dialect).The ancient name of Lubaantun is unknown. Some say the current name might have come from Gann’s unfortunate habit of dynamiting the tops of pyramids and temples. Since the 1970s, more professional excavation and restoration work has been completed at this site, and much information is available at the visitor’s center at the entrance to the ruins.

The Legend of the Mitchell-Hedges Crystal Skull

A fairly controversial story details the discovery of a crystal skull at Lubaantun ruins.Allegedly, in 1924 British adventurer Frederick Mitchell-Hedges and his adopted daughter, Anna, accompanied Gann to the site. While exploring the excavations, Anna reportedly found a perfectly proportioned human skull that was carved from pure quartz crystal. No records exist of this discovery from the 1920s, but Anna began touring with the skull years later.While many doubt the veracity of this story, to some the skull is considered a supernatural object of the highest importance, possibly containing the key to secrets of the ancient Maya world.