Witzna is a mid-sized

archaeological site An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology a ...

of the

pre-Columbian In the history of the Americas, the pre-Columbian era spans from the original settlement of North and South America in the Upper Paleolithic period through European colonization, which began with Christopher Columbus's voyage of 1492. Usually, ...

Maya civilization The Maya civilization () of the Mesoamerican people is known by its ancient temples and glyphs. Its Maya script is the most sophisticated and highly developed writing system in the pre-Columbian Americas. It is also noted for its art, a ...

, situated in the

Petén Basin The Petén Basin is a geographical subregion of Mesoamerica, primarily located in northern Guatemala within the Department of El Petén, and into Campeche state in southeastern Mexico. During the Late Preclassic and Classic periods of pre-Colum ...

region of what is now northern Guatemala. Inscriptions discovered on site indicate that the city was known to the ancient Mayans as Bahlam Jol. Significant occupancy is dated to the

Classic period Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of prehispanic Mesoamerica into several periods: the Paleo-Indian (first human habitation until 3500 BCE); the Archaic (before 2600 BCE), the Preclassic or Formative (2500 BCE –&nbs ...

Mesoamerican chronology Mesoamerican chronology divides the history of prehispanic Mesoamerica into several periods: the Paleo-Indian (first human habitation until 3500 BCE); the Archaic (before 2600 BCE), the Preclassic or Formative (2500 BCE –&nb ...

. It is located near the confluence of the

Holmul Holmul is a pre-Columbian archaeological site of the Maya civilization located in the northeastern Petén Basin region in Guatemala near the modern-day border with Belize. Location In spite of its relatively modest size, Holmul was important t ...

and

Ixcán River The Ixcán River is a river in Guatemala. The river flows northwards from its sources in the Sierra de los Cuchumatanes in Huehuetenango, marks the border with El Quiché for a number of kilometers, and crosses the border with Mexico at 16.074929� ...

s, near the site of Chanchich II. The site's main center (dubbed the "Acropolis") contains several

palaces A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whic ...

(two of which are 2 stories high), stepped-pyramid "temples" and a

ballcourt A Mesoamerican ballcourt ( nah, tlachtli) is a large masonry structure of a type used in Mesoamerica for over 2,700 years to play the Mesoamerican ballgame, particularly the hip-ball version of the ballgame. More than 1,300 ballcourts have been i ...

. A ''

sacbe Sacbe at Dzibilchaltun in the Yucatán Arch at the end of the sacbé, Kabah, Yucatán A sacbe, plural sacbeob ( Yucatec Maya: singular ''sakbej'', plural ''sakbejo'ob''), or "white way", is a raised paved road built by the Maya civilization of p ...

'' joins this complex with the "Sculptures Complex", to the west. There are 3

stela A stele ( ),Anglicized plural steles ( ); Greek plural stelai ( ), from Greek , ''stēlē''. The Greek plural is written , ''stēlai'', but this is only rarely encountered in English. or occasionally stela (plural ''stelas'' or ''stelæ''), wh ...

e and 2 altars. The main residential area is at the eastern side of the site. Archaeological evidence shows that a large fire destroyed much of the city at the end of the 7th century, which corresponds to a

hieroglyphic Egyptian hieroglyphs (, ) were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt, used for writing the Egyptian language. Hieroglyphs combined logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements, with some 1,000 distinct characters.There were about 1,00 ...

account in nearby

Naranjo Naranjo is a Pre-Columbian Maya city in the Petén Basin region of Guatemala. It was occupied from about 500 BC to 950 AD, with its height in the Late Classic Period. The site is part of Yaxha-Nakum-Naranjo National Park. The city lies along the ...

describing the burning of a rebellious vassal city named Bahlam Jol dated to 21 May 697 CE. This event caused a significant decline in the population of the city, with many of its inhabitants likely enslaved or taken prisoner by Naranjo. The city was rebuilt during the early 700s CE, though less prominent and more sparsely populated than before. The royal dynasty ruling Bahlam Jol lasted another century after the conflagration, and traces of farming around the city continued for several more centuries after that.

References

Maya sites in Petén Department Archaeological sites in Guatemala Former populated places in Guatemala {{Mesoamerica-stub