What I like about Altun Ha is how easy it is to take in once you step into the main plazas. It feels completely different from Lamanai. There, I think of jungle trails and structures appearing through the trees; here, the site is open, and from the middle of a plaza you can see several of the main buildings at once and understand how the ceremonial center was arranged.
The compact core does not mean the community was small. Surveys have identified more than 500 structures across the wider settlement, with the monumental heart concentrated in Groups A and B and substantial activity by around 200 BC. Altun Ha was also remarkably wealthy for its size. An Early Classic offering in Structure F-8 contained hundreds of pieces of obsidian associated with Teotihuacan in central Mexico, which David Pendergast argued showed contact between the two as early as the second century AD. Inside the Temple of the Green Tomb, archaeologists found an elite burial with almost 300 jade objects, shell ornaments, stingray spines, and fragments of a Maya codex.
The discovery Altun Ha is best known for came from Structure B-4, the Temple of the Masonry Altars. In 1968 Pendergast's team opened a royal tomb containing a carved jade head traditionally identified as K'inich Ahau, the sun god. It stands about 14.9 centimetres tall and weighs 4.42 kilograms, almost ten pounds, and it remains one of the defining finds in Belizean archaeology. It still amazes me that something so recognizable spent centuries sealed inside this building.
One of the easiest major sites to reach. Close to Belize City and compact enough to fit a half day between flights or water taxis.
See where the Jade Head was found. The nearly ten-pound carving came out of a royal tomb in the Temple of the Masonry Altars in 1968.
The open layout makes the city easy to read. Look across the plazas and you can see how the buildings relate to one another.
Planning your visit: Near Rockstone Pond, about 30 miles north of Belize City. Allow 1–2 hours. Bring drinking water, sun protection, insect repellent, and shoes with grip for uneven stone paths.
