Ruins of Quirigua, Guatemala

Stela E, Quirigua, Guatemala
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Stela_E_north.jpg
Author: MeRyan


The Archaeological Park and Ruins of Quirigua is a World Heritage Site in Guatemala. Quiriguá is an ancient Mayan kingdom which flourished during the Maya Classic Period (AD200-900). It is located in south-eastern Guatemala, at the crossroad of several important ancient trading routes.

Quiriguá covers an area of approximately three square kilometers. Most of the buildings at Quiriguá was started in around AD550, but it was in the 8th century that most of its grandest buildings were constructed. This coincided with the victory of its ruler, K'ak' Tiliw Chan Yopaat against the kingdom of Copán in AD 738. K'ak' Tiliw Chan Yopaat managed to capture Copán's greater ruler, Uaxacaljuun Ub'aah K'awiil, also called "18-Rabbit", who was captured, taken back to Quiriguá, and sacrificed to the gods at the Great Plaza in Quiriguá.

While the buildings at Quiriguá are not as spectacular as those found at other Mayan sites, it has some of the best stone monuments in the New World. These are the elaborately carved stela, usually of single blocks of sandstone, which were brought from quarries located some 5 kilometers from the sites. The hard rock allowed the sculpturing of three-dimensional faces at Quiriguá, as opposed to the two-dimensional at Petén. The most exquisite stelae at Quiriguá is arguably Stela E.

Archaeological Park and Ruins of Quirigua was inscribed as a World Heritage Site during the 5th session of the World Heritage Committee meeting in Sydney, Australia, on 26-30 October, 1981.

Stela E, Quirigua, Guatemala
Source: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Quirigu%C3%A1Glyphs1.jpg
Author: Stuardo Herrera

World Heritage Site Inscription Details

Location: N 15 16 14 W 89 02 25
Inscription Year: 1981
Type of Site: Cultural
Inscription Criteria: I, II, IV

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