Chichen Itza
The sacred well or sacrificial cenote is reached by a large artifical causeway. The well is oval with a diameter of 60 meters and from the ground level down to the water level it measures between 22 and 23 meters; the depth of the water is another 6 to 12 meters. Near the edge of the well can be found the ruins of a small building with a room used as a steambath. The well was the most sacred pilgrimage center in the Yucatan. It served as warehouse for the offerings to the rain gods, who resided in the underworld. Large quantities of ceramics, pieces of metal, green stones, shells, wood, ceramic squash, rubber, woven material, copal insense bowls and other objects, many carried from distant places, were found in the well. Also found were human skeletons predominantly of young children, this cult culminated in the early post-classic period.
|
Back to Chichen Itza |