Uaxactun
Uaxactun (pronounced Wash-ak-toon) is an ancient ruin of the Maya civilization, located in the Peten department of Guatemala, some 40 km (25 miles) north of Tikal.Since the decipherment of the ancient Maya heiroglyphic writing, it was discovered that the ancient name for this site was Siaan K’aan or "Born in Heaven". The name "Uaxactun" was given to the site by its rediscoverer, United States archeologist Sylvanus Morley, in the early 1920s. He coined the name from Maya words to mean "Eight Stone". The name has two meanings; the Morley's stated reason for the name was to commemorate it as the first site where an inscription dating from the 8th Baktun of the Maya calendar was discovered (making it then the earliest known Maya date). The other meaning is a pun, since "Uaxactun" sounds like "Washington", the U.S. Capital and home of the Carnegie Institute which funded Morley's explorations.
The Carnegie Institution conducted archeological excavations here from 1926 through 1937. The excavations added greatly to knowledge of the early Classic and pre-Classic Maya. The remains of several badly ruined late Classic era temple-pyramids were removed, revealing well preserved earlier temples underneath them.
