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LUBAANTUM Located 20 miles away from Punta Gorda, Lubaantun is best-known for its dry masonry. A late classic ceremonial center is also noted for its lack of stelae that dominate most other sites in southern Belize. Only occupied for one or two centuries, Lubaantun was the focal center of that period. Around 700 AD there was a large movement of people into the vicinity. It was one of the last major sites before the collapse of the Maya. The architecture of Lubaantun is distinctive to southern Belize. The pyramids and walls are built without the mortar that holds together most other Mayan buildings. These “pyramids” served as platforms for the more detailed perishable buildings on top. The largest building is 11 meters high. First reported in the1800s it was not until 1903 that the site was formally investigated. There were excavations in 1915, 1926, and 1970. During the first by R. E. Merwin there was a discovery of three large stone markers in the ball court. These depicted two men playing the favorite Mayan sport. In 1970 Norman Hammond mapped the ceremonial center and its surroundings. |