This temple was built in relation to the sun’s orientation and functioned as a calendar marking dates associated with equinoxes and solstices, which were at the same time linked with agricultural cycles. It shows different construction phases, evidence of the site’s long occupation. The Temple Townhouse, adjacent to it, was a place of worship.

Upon exploring Temple 24, a platform with a mural painting was discovered on a substructure. Geometric designs, X-shaped symbols (St. Andrew’s Cross) and elements that look like the combination of a butterfly and a turtle, related to Venus and the Orion constellation, can be seen on it.

Next to The Great Basement, they seem to have served to control the ceremonial center entrance.

The remaining masonry indicates that they held up roofs of perishable materials. It is connected to a plaza with a central altar.

This temple conserves remains of red-painted stucco, the same type that was thought to cover most of the building.

The Mayas were characterized by founding their cities in remarkable settings, and Chacchoben is no exception. Songbirds in the myriad trees – sapodilla, fig, chaca, ramon, cedar and mahogany– along the way, make for a pleasant visit. Walking through Chacchoben’s dense jungle, one can see the sapodilla, or “chicle” tree, from which gum is still extracted today.

Its architectural style, with temples featuring rounded corners, suggests more resemblance to sites in Belize rather than Yucatan.

Archaeological exploration began in 1994, highlighting several buildings that make up the center of this pre-Hispanic city that covers approximately 70 hectares. The presence of freshwater lagoons made the first settlements possible here in the late Pre-classic period. The site is divided into architectural groups, among which The Great Basement, Las Vias (“the ways”) structures and Plaza B. Although its original name isn’t known, it is currently called Chacchoben (“Place of the Red Corn” in the Mayan language). Archaeologist Peter Harrison was the first to report the site to the government, explore it and map it out, in 1972.