Kabah 
How to get there
By bus from Campeche and Mérida; by car from Campeche on the MEX 261, about 120km/75mi, from Mérida on the MEX 261 about 130km/80mi, from Uxmal about 20km/12.4mi.
Having previously been somewhat neglected by archaeologists, investigation of Kabah resumed in 1990. A visit to the site is highly recommended, situated as it is right beside the Mérida-Campeche road just 20km/12.4mi south of Uxmal.
By bus from Campeche and Mérida; by car from Campeche on the MEX 261, about 120km/75mi, from Mérida on the MEX 261 about 130km/80mi, from Uxmal about 20km/12.4mi.
Having previously been somewhat neglected by archaeologists, investigation of Kabah resumed in 1990. A visit to the site is highly recommended, situated as it is right beside the Mérida-Campeche road just 20km/12.4mi south of Uxmal.
|
Must-see attractions nearby:
|
An additional attraction is that, since 1993, the 1000 ha (2470 acre) site has been a designated conservation area (Parque Estatal). Although the buildings so far excavated at Kabah are in the traditional Puuc style, they have revealed unusual features which are attributed to Chenes influence.
History
Little is known of the history of Kabah. It seems to have been a dependency of the great city of Uxmal, with which it is linked by a sacbé, one of the Maya "white roads" used mostly for ceremonial purposes. In the mid 19th c. the site was explored by the indefatigable John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood, but the first systematic digs were carried out by Teobert Maler towards the end of the century. These and later excavations have shown that the principal buildings on the site date from the 9th c., also that Kabah was abandoned in about 1200.
History
Little is known of the history of Kabah. It seems to have been a dependency of the great city of Uxmal, with which it is linked by a sacbé, one of the Maya "white roads" used mostly for ceremonial purposes. In the mid 19th c. the site was explored by the indefatigable John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood, but the first systematic digs were carried out by Teobert Maler towards the end of the century. These and later excavations have shown that the principal buildings on the site date from the 9th c., also that Kabah was abandoned in about 1200.
Related Attractions
Read More
Mul-chic
Near Santa Elena, some 5km/3mi north of Kabah, lies the small archaeological site of Mul-chic. The largest building here is the restored six-storey Pyramid with steps on the outside, which was built over a temple with a vaulted roof and roof-comb. The wall-paintings discovered inside are now scarcely visible.
Palace of the Masks
In the southern part of the site, east of the road, lies the Palace of the Masks (Templo de las Máscaras, or codz-poop, "rolled-up mat"). The Maya name comes from the trunk-like nose of the rain-god Chac, resembling a rolled-up mat, here used as a staircase.
The Temple, 45 m (150 ft) long and 6 m (20 ft) high, stands on a low platform, the front of which is decorated with a horizontal row of stylised masks. The palace is unique in Puuc architecture in having the façade as well as the main structure covered with decoration - a feature attributed to the influence of the Chenes style. Above a richly ornamented sill is a continuous row of masks with huge trunk-like noses now mostly broken off; above this can be seen a cornice decorated with geometrical patterns, and above this again are three further continuous rows of Chac masks. Little is left of the roof-comb, once 3 m (10 ft) high, with its rectangular apertures. Bizarre and overloaded with decoration as the façade may appear, with more than 250 masks, the technical mastery which it displays is no less astonishing.
The Temple, 45 m (150 ft) long and 6 m (20 ft) high, stands on a low platform, the front of which is decorated with a horizontal row of stylised masks. The palace is unique in Puuc architecture in having the façade as well as the main structure covered with decoration - a feature attributed to the influence of the Chenes style. Above a richly ornamented sill is a continuous row of masks with huge trunk-like noses now mostly broken off; above this can be seen a cornice decorated with geometrical patterns, and above this again are three further continuous rows of Chac masks. Little is left of the roof-comb, once 3 m (10 ft) high, with its rectangular apertures. Bizarre and overloaded with decoration as the façade may appear, with more than 250 masks, the technical mastery which it displays is no less astonishing.
Temple of the Columns
Near the Teocalli stands the much-ruined Temple of the Columns (Templo de las Columnas), which shows some affinity to the Governor's Palace at Uxmal.
Teocalli
A little way north of the Palace of the Masks stands the Teocalli, or Palace (Palacio). This two-storey building, the lower storey of which is destroyed, shows a plain and unadorned style of architecture which is in striking contrast to the over-decorated façade of the Codz-poop. The decoration here consists mainly of panels of close-set columns between two projecting mouldings.
