Labná
How to get there
By bus from Mérida; by car on the MEX 261: about 5km/3mi south of Kabah a new road leads to Labná via Sayil (15km/9.3mi).
Labná - buried, like the neighbouring sites of Sayil and Xlapak, amid dense tropical vegetation - is an important Maya centre, the full extent of which has not yet been explored. It offers classical examples of the Puuc architectural style.
By bus from Mérida; by car on the MEX 261: about 5km/3mi south of Kabah a new road leads to Labná via Sayil (15km/9.3mi).
Labná - buried, like the neighbouring sites of Sayil and Xlapak, amid dense tropical vegetation - is an important Maya centre, the full extent of which has not yet been explored. It offers classical examples of the Puuc architectural style.
|
Must-see attractions nearby:
|
History
As with Sayil and Xlapak, little is known of the history of this interesting site. The few datings that have been established indicate that the principal structures at Labná ("broken houses" in the Maya tongue) were built in the 9th c. ad, in the Maya Late Classic period. Here, as at most Maya sites, we owe the first account of the remains to John L. Stephens and Frederick Catherwood, who visited Labná in the mid 19th c. The large numbers of chultunes (cisterns), over sixty of which were found, suggest that the town had a considerable population.
In recent years the Carnegie Institute and various Mexican institutions have done excellent restoration work at Labná as well as the neighbouring sites of Sayil and Xlapak.
As with Sayil and Xlapak, little is known of the history of this interesting site. The few datings that have been established indicate that the principal structures at Labná ("broken houses" in the Maya tongue) were built in the 9th c. ad, in the Maya Late Classic period. Here, as at most Maya sites, we owe the first account of the remains to John L. Stephens and Frederick Catherwood, who visited Labná in the mid 19th c. The large numbers of chultunes (cisterns), over sixty of which were found, suggest that the town had a considerable population.
In recent years the Carnegie Institute and various Mexican institutions have done excellent restoration work at Labná as well as the neighbouring sites of Sayil and Xlapak.
Related Attractions
East Building
130 m (140 yd) south-east of the palace stands the East Building. Although also palace-like in construction it is decorated in simpler fashion. L-shaped and containing several rooms, it stands on a terrace. The only definite ornamentaion is the row of small pillars with a simple frieze on the upper façade.
Mirador
The southern group of structures is dominated by a pyramid (not yet properly restored) topped by a temple known as the Mirador ("Lookout"). Above the two restored platforms and the temple rears the imposing roof-comb, like a free-standing façade. We know from Stephen's account that it was originally decorated with a large seated figure in brightly painted stucco. The projecting stones on the front of the roof-comb provide a base for the stucco. The only surviving remnant of decoration on the temple is the lower half of a figure at the south-west corner of the building.
Read More