Tourists caught vandalising sacred 1,300-year-old Mayan Tikal Temple in Guatemala

[Judi Lynn]

They could face fines of up to £100,000 or even prison sentences for defacing Guatemalan monuments

NAOMI ACKERMAN
5 hours ago



A pair of tourists have been caught on camera carving their initials onto an ancient and sacred 1,300-year-old temple in Guatemala.

They were snapped etching "A + T" onto a side wall of the pyramid in the ancient city of Tikal, one of the largest archaeological Mayan sites in Mesoamerica.

Ancient Mayan civilisations began building cities with impressive temples and intricate sculptures as far back as 1500 BCE.

. . .

Located in the northern Guatemalan department of Peten inside Guatemala's Tikal National Park, which was declared a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1979, the ancient city of Tikal was founded in 732 AD.

More:
https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/tourists-caught-vandalising-sacred-1300yearold-mayan-tikal-temple-in-guatemala-a4300706.html









Temple II

Monday, November 10, 2014
Tikal Guatemala: A Long Time Ago, in a Mayan Civilization Far, Far Away

One of the most memorable travel experiences we’ve had while traveling was visiting the ancient Mayan ruins of Tikal in Guatemala. We traveled to Tikal on a day tour from Belize and had already visited some of Belize’s Mayan ruins. But even with a preview of the Mayan ruins of Belize, nothing prepared us for the magnificent grandeur of Guatemala’s Tikal. Not even the fact that we’d seen the view of Tikal pyramids towering over jungle trees a million times before in Star Wars. (Tikal is featured in Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.)

Tikal National Park is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in northern Guatemala in the Petén region (called a department in Guatemala), just over 50 miles northwest of the Guatemala/Belize border. Driving through Guatemala to Tikal is an adventure in itself. We drove for over an hour on bumpy roads, many of which were dirt roads. Because of the bad condition of the roads drivers did not strictly adhere to the rules of the road, but rather drove on whatever side didn’t have potholes. It was rather unnerving to look ahead and see trucks coming towards us on our side of the road. We even got stuck for a short time in a traffic jam of a herd of cows being herded by a Guatemalan cowboy.

Along the drive into Tikal National Park are reminders that you’re in a rainforest with wild animals. We started passing signs picturing the animals we might see. At first they were signs for small animals like turkeys and coatimundi, but then came the sign for jaguars, not an animal I wanted to encounter.

Tikal is the largest excavated Mayan site in the Americas, with approximately 10 square miles excavated, and the park covers over 200 square miles. Tikal was first excavated by the University of Pennsylvania starting in 1956. Excavation and restoration continues through today, overseen by the Instituto de Antropología e Historia. While many of the ancient Mayan structures have been uncovered, countless more remain untouched, covered by over a thousand years of jungle.

More:
https://www.katherinebelarmino.com/2014/11/guatemala-tikal-mayan-ruins.html

[mdelaguna]

1. Picture #1 is of the site of Chichen Itza

Unfortunate news about the vandals though. Glad they were caught.

[Judi Lynn]

2. Isn't that odd? You would expect the newspaper to check its work, wouldn't you?

It appears all Central American pyramids look the same to them.

Google images page for Chichen Itza pictures and their articles for DU'ers like me who've not had the pleasure of seeing this amazing structure and its surrounding monuments. Fascinating:

https://tinyurl.com/vejk6q2

It was disgusting to read the two were displeased when they were confronted. Their faces should be published, and there should be an alert attached to their passport that they have defaced internationally respected monuments already, and should be watched carefully!

Dirt bags.

[Turbineguy]

3. OK. I can figure out

who the "T" is, but who is this "A" person?

[Judi Lynn]

4. Yeah, that's a tough one.