Sights in Lamanai
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Stela 9
North of the elite residential complex, this intricately carved standing stone in front of Structure N10-27 was erected in AD 625 to commemorate the accession of Lord Smoking Shell in AD 608. He is shown in ceremonial regalia, wearing a rattlesnake headdress with quetzal feathers at the back, and holding a double-headed serpent bar diagonally across his body, with a deity emerging from the serpent's jaw at the top. The remains of five children – ranging in age from newborn to eight – were buried beneath the stela. Archaeologists believe the burial must have been highly significant, since offerings are not usually associated with the dedication of monuments.
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Maya Structures
At the far north end of the Lamanai site, and often missed by tour groups, this large platform, 120yd by 100yd in area, supports several large buildings up to 92ft high. Next to it is a river inlet that once formed an ancient harbor.
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Mask Temple
To the northeast along a jungle path, the Mask Temple (Structure N9-56) was begun around 200 BC and was modified several times up to AD 1300. It has a 13ft stylized mask of a man in a crocodile headdress emblazoned on the southern part of its west face. Dating from about AD 400, this is one of the finest big masks in the Maya world, and unusual in that it is made of limestone blocks rather than plaster. A similar mask is hidden beneath the facade on the northern side. Deep within this building archaeologists found the tombs of a man adorned with shell and jade jewelry, and a woman from almost the same date. The pair are thought to be a succession of leaders – perhaps a…
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Jaguar Temple
This temple (Structure N10-9), fronting a 100yd-wide plaza, was built in the 6th century AD and modified several times up to at least the 15th century – a fine example of the longevity of the Lamanai settlement. The stone patterning on the lowest-level turns depicts two cleverly designed jaguar faces, dating from the initial 6th-century construction. On the opposite (north) side of the plaza is a set of buildings that were used as residences for Lamanai's royal elite.
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High Temple
North of the ball court, across a plaza shaded by trees, is Structure N10-43, the highest at Lamanai, which rises 125ft above the jungle canopy. Few large buildings in the Maya world were built as early as this one, which was initially constructed around 100 BC. This grand ceremonial temple was built from nothing on a site that had previously been residential, which indicated a dramatic surge in Lamanai's importance at the time. You can climb to its summit for fabulous panoramas over the rest of Lamanai, the New River Lagoon, and plains and forests stretching out on all sides.
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Colonial Structures
Some 400yd south of Jaguar Temple are the remains of the thick stone walls of two Spanish churches, which were built by Maya forced labor from the remains of a temple. The southern church was built in 1544, and the northern one in the 1560s. Both were destroyed by the Maya, the second one in the 1640 rebellion. Unknown to the Spanish, the Maya placed sacred objects such as crocodile figurines inside the churches while building them. A 300yd path opposite the churches leads to the partly overgrown remains of a 19th-century sugar mill.
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Ball Court
Not far west of Stela 9 is Lamanai's ball court, one of the smallest in the Maya world – but with the largest ball-court marker found yet! A ceremonial vessel containing liquid mercury, probably from Guatemala, was found beneath the marker.
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