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El Rey Archeological Zone

While visiting Cancun everyone should take a trip to El Rey Ruins.  El Rey is so easy to access that you can walk there from some hotels.  It is very easy to access by bus, El Rey is in the heart of the Cancun  hotel zone.  There are 47 structures to see and twice as many iguanas.  They are all over El Rey, posing for pictures on the structures. These ruins may not be very big but the are the easiest to access for those with small kids.  This site doesn’t get a lot a visitors so you almost get the whole place to yourself as you explore the Mayan constructions.

History

Dates back to 1200 -1500 A,D this site used to be a center for maritime trade. It is located on the Mayan trade route. The people here traded fish and salt. Salt was the only way to preserve food back then so it was extremely valuable.

They built their homes here elevated on platforms 60 cm high with the entrances facing the north and south roads. They had a staircase that would lead them to the road below. This area is prone to flooding so the elevated homes would have helped keep them dry. They also buried their dead below their homes in chambers. The dead were buried in a sitting position. They did this because they believed the dead had spirits that were stored in their heads. They wanted to keep the spirits as close as possible to the family.

The city was abandoned when the Spanish arrived in the 16th century. It’s located close to the coast and wasn’t long before it became a haven for pirates. The place was eventually abandoned. The jungle buried it and it remained untouched until some developers went into this jungle and found the site. The site was cleared and they found 47 structures. Buried inside one of them, they found a giant sculpture of a human head adorned with a head dress. He looked fit to be a king. They named the site El Rey after him. He is now at the Archeological Museum of Cancun.

Templo Columnado – Columned Temple

This building consists of many columns and would have had a thatch roof back in the Mayan era. It was used for ceremonies. in the inner shrines Mayans would burn incense in ceramic burners featuring images of the Mayan gods.

Basamento Piramidal – Pyramid Structure

This is this highest building at El Rey. It”s 5.5 m tall. It has 3 plateaus with rounded edges. It has a staircase on the south side. Part of the staircase is worn away and it exposes the staircase of the pyramid it was built on. Like all other Mayan pyramids Every 52 years, they would build a new temple on top of this pyramid. It was also a burial place.

SUN Pyramid Complex

This small building contains a few small rooms. They found 2 paintings on walls inside this structure. They were taken to Mexico city where they were restored and placed in the museum.

Tours

It will cost you 50 pesos, about $3. If you have a video camera it will cost you a 45 peso fee. There are restroom by the entrance. You can’t purchase anything here so bring water. There is not a lot of shade so it’s a good idea to bring a hat and good walking shoes.

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