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tj Hoffman | profile | all galleries >> travel_adventures >> belize_archaeology >> The Beauty of Belize, Mexico & Guatemala >> other_maya_sites >> ake_mexico >> The Pillars of Aké tree view | thumbnails | slideshow

The Pillars of Aké

Just south of Motul, Mexico lies the unsuspecting site of Aké. It was the last one to be visited by Stephens & Catherwood in their 2nd trip in 1842. An open-field site that is hardly visited, it is best known for Structure 1; an elongated base that supports 36 standing stone pillars. Its appearance at sunset is magical, but then most everywhere in the Yucatan is like that...

The architectural style can be considered typical of the "izamaleño" style or the late Puuc style. Visitors will observe terrace-shaped structures, with rounded corners, low angle stairways, big blocks of stone roughly carved, vaults of the inverted stairway type; masonry of the mosaic type.

At the beginning of the 20th century, to the north of the Ake site, the henequen hacienda was built using some of the stones from the ruins. Since then, henequen fields have covered the entire area of the settlement, which resulted in the obvious destruction of the ancient buildings.
Structure 1
Structure 1
Pillars of cylindrical stone blocks, unique in Classic Puuc-Maya Architecture
Pillars of cylindrical stone blocks, unique in Classic Puuc-Maya Architecture
Massive Pillars Tower above Visitors at Ake
Massive Pillars Tower above Visitors at Ake
Aké.jpg
Aké.jpg