Tazumal

Tazumal sits in the middle of Chalchuapa, surrounded by an ordinary Salvadoran town, and its stepped pyramid is the most completely restored pre-Columbian structure in the country. The site was occupied for well over a thousand years and shows influences from across Mesoamerica - Maya, Teotihuacan and later Pipil - reflecting Chalchuapa's position on trade routes. Excavations recovered jade, ceramics and a famous stone figure, with much of it displayed in the site museum. The 1940s restoration used concrete, which archaeologists now regret, but the shape and scale still land.

History

Tazumal forms the southern part of the ancient city of Chalchuapa, inhabited since the Preclassic period; building here was interrupted around the end of the Late Preclassic by the eruption of the Ilopango volcano, some 75 km to the east, and resumed only after a pause that may have lasted generations. Its main structures date from the Classic period, when Tazumal had links with the Maya city of Kaminaljuyu and through it with Teotihuacan, and later with Copán, and metal objects found here, dating from the 8th century AD, are among the earliest evidence of metalworking in Mesoamerica. Its people lived alongside the Nahua-speaking Pipils until at least AD 1200, after which the site was largely abandoned as settlement moved west to the centre of modern Chalchuapa. Between 1942 and 1944 Stanley Boggs excavated and restored structures B1-1 and B1-2, coating them in modern cement, and in 1947 Tazumal was declared a National Historic Monument; until 2001 it appeared on the 100 colón note, and new research began in the early 21st century, including a project by the Japanese University of Nagoya (Wikipedia, Tazumal).

The main sights

• The main pyramid - the restored stepped structure at the site's centre.
• The site museum - jade, ceramics and finds from the excavations.
• The ball court remains - the Mesoamerican court within the complex.
• Casa Blanca and San Andres - other sites in the same archaeological zone.

When to go

The dry season from November to April is more comfortable; the site is open and shadeless. Mornings avoid the worst heat. It is open year round with a closed day midweek, so check before travelling.

Things to know

The concrete restoration is obvious and disappointing to visitors who have seen sites in Guatemala or Mexico - Tazumal is modest by regional standards and largely still buried under the town. The visit takes an hour or two. Labelling is mostly in Spanish. It works best combined with Joya de Ceren and San Andres on a single archaeology day.

Nearby

Joya de Ceren, San Andres, Santa Ana and Lake Coatepeque.

Key facts