Friday, August 9, 2013

Quiriguá - Guatemala

Another great UNESCO card, this one from Guatemala, my 2nd card from this country, sent by David. The Archaeological Park and Ruins of Quirigua were added to the WHS list in 1981. 

Quiriguá is an ancient Maya archaeological site in the department of Izabal in south-eastern Guatemala.
Quiriguá is one of the smaller Mayan sites, but also one of the most notable due to the artistry of its stelae, which Mayan rulers during the Classic Period commissioned to commemorate important political and dynastic events. Nowadays, the temples and palaces lie in ruins around the pleasant green park that once was the great plaza of Quirigua and archaeologists are only now piecing them back together.

© Photo by Marino Cattelan 
Quirigua features a total of 22 carved stelae and zoomorphs (large boulders carved to represent animals and covered with figures and glyphs), which are among the finest examples of classic Mayan stone carvings. Unlike other Mayan cities, which for the most part used limestone, monuments in Quirigua are made of sandstone, which has survived the millennium since the end of the Classic Period surprisingly well. Even though the Maya did not have any metal tools and only used stone chisels driven by other stones or wooden mallets, they still achieved a remarkable degree of naturalism and refined detail. - in: http://www.sailing-diving-guatemala.com/guatemala/quirigua.php

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