11-14-08 The Ruins of Nadzcaan

Nadzcaan is a huge ruin, one of the largest, but it has been studied very little, but will prove to be very important once research has been started. Only three plazas are cleared, but these
represent only a small fraction of the monumental architecture at the site. Major constructions likely started in the Late Preclassic, and continued though to the late or terminal Classic. Like many ruins in the area it was discovered by looters who removed any carvings they could find.

Nadzcaan is located off the highway up into the hills on a dirt road. I built my bike to take this ride, and it did put my bike to the test. The road had not been traveled in more than a year and there were many downed trees I had to get around, but a great ride.

This is a bridge that must be crossed to reach the ruins.

An early structure with lots of stella. The round stones in front are alters. Stellas are frequently set with alters, a tradition going back to at least 600BC.

An Early Classic temple.

A giant Late Preclassic or Early Classic temple. Not the largest at the site, but the largest I could get to. This is just the bottom of on corner.

A Late Classic structure with a mix of Peten and Rio Bec styles.

Have to love this tetris style stonework. Hard to imagine why somebody would have done such a fine job, but wasted so much time fitting every last stone. I am constantly struck by the Classic Maya spent so much energy on things that appear to have no practical value. Unlike me, THEY certainly knew what they were doing.

Distance rode: 34km

Total: 1683km