Adventurous
visitors can visit the partially excavated Mayan city of Caracol,
the largest Mayan ruin site in Belize.
Archeologists estimate that Caracol had 35,000 buildings,
three times the buildings found in Guatemala's Tikal. The site covers
five square miles. More than 150,000 people lived there.
From hieroglyphics found on stelae (stones) in Caracol,
archaeologists believe Caracol's army defeated the
army of Tikal in AD 562, and became the most powerful in the region.
Royalty, including women were buried in what
were clearly royal tombs.
The name Caracol is Spanish for "snail shell"
and was given because of the large numbers of snail shells found
there.
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