Significant progress is being made in the recognition and documentation of X’baatún, a little-known Maya archaeological site located within Oxwatz Park in the ejido of Tekal de Venegas, Yucatán.
During the final weeks of 2025, researchers returned to the area to conduct a new field season, which is steadily revealing the scale, complexity, and regional importance of the ancient settlement.
According to Juan García Targa, co-director of the X’baatún Project, the site is far larger than previously believed. Within a nine-kilometre core enclosed by a perimeter wall, archaeologists have identified around 60 structures, with evidence that the settlement extends well beyond that boundary.
Construction remains have been located in all four directions from the central Structure 1, and the nearby site of Kukulá may also form part of the broader urban landscape, containing at least 50 additional buildings.
The project combined traditional surface surveys with high-resolution topographic mapping, drone-based photogrammetry and targeted borehole drilling. These methods have provided a clearer picture of the site’s layout and architectural character, which spans a five-century occupation between AD 700 and 1200, covering the Late-Terminal Classic and Early Postclassic periods.
One of the most notable discoveries is Structure 13, a residential complex measuring approximately 35 metres on each side, arranged around a plaza and a small pyramid known as Structure 15.
Measuring nine metres square and four metres high, the ensemble displays a local version of the Puuc architectural style, characterised by columns and vaulted rooms built with distinctive “boot-stones”. Traditionally associated with major hill-country centres such as Uxmal and Kabah, Puuc architecture is now understood to have influenced more distant sites, including X’baatún in the heart of the Yucatán plain.
Ceramic analysis undertaken by Varela Torrecilla also suggests historic links with Ek’ Balam, based on imported pottery fragments recovered during surface and test-pit excavations.
Beyond excavation, the project places strong emphasis on outreach and collaboration. Findings have been shared at the Ichkaantijoo Mayan Culture Symposium and at the Gran Museo de Chichén Itzá, while students and academics from the Autonomous University of Yucatán have joined community members from Tekal de Venegas and Dzoncauich in documenting the site.
Header Image Credit : INAH
Sources : INAH
