Cobá

City of Ghosts
also
Water stirred by wind

This ancient Mayan city of Cobá or 'City of Ghosts', is just now being explored. Comprised of 5 major areas, only 4 have been partially excavated and restored. Over 50 sq. km in size with an estimated 50-60,000 people at its peak during the Classic Period. Comprised of over 6,500 structures, only 10% have actually been excavated so far.

Coba's buildings are connected by a complex network of sacbes, or stone roads, that are believed to have been built between 600 and 800 BC. There are over 40 sacbes that cover approximately 100 km (63 miles). The sacbes reach other important Mayan cities, like Yaxuna, near Chichen Itza, Pole, now called Xcaret, and the Muyil. They are believed to have been used by the military and for trading, and sacbes were also used for various rituals and pilgrimages.

The five lakes of Coba are without a doubt the main reason why the Mayans settled here. Coba is located near five of the largest lakes in the Yucatan Peninsula: Cobá, Macanxoc, Xkanha, Zacalpuc and Sina a Kal.

In 1891, the Austrian archaeologist Teobert Maler, after hearing of an ancient city lost in the jungle, came to Coba and began its first excavation. The city remained undisturbed for another thirty five years until 1926, when the Carnegie Institute financed two expeditions headed by Eric Thompson and Harry Pollock. In the 1970´s the Mexican government through the INAH (National Institute of Anthropology and History) financed more excavations at Coba.