Kalakmul - the ancient Mayan city that is captured by the jungle

In the Mexican state of Campeche, half an hour from the border with Guatemala, there are the ruins of the ancient Mayan city of Kalakmul, or Chicnaab, as the inhabitants themselves called it. It was the capital of one of the kingdoms, which, having survived its best times, fell into decay and disappeared into the surrounding jungle. Kalakmul is located away from the main tourist routes, and travelers do not visit it as often as, for example, the famous cities of Chichen Itza or Palenque. For this reason, the city is gradually overrun by the jungle, and all that can be seen today are two powerful pyramids that rise above the crowns of trees.

Mayan civilization did not have a formalized state, but consisted of several large kingdom cities that waged constant wars among themselves. This endless struggle for power and spheres of influence led to the fact that large cities, whose rulers lost the next battle, quickly plunged into decline, and their inhabitants moved to more prosperous places. This happened with Kalakmul, who was the capital of the Canul kingdom and flourished until the VIII century.

After another defeat from warlike neighbors, Kalakmul enters the era of crisis. This period is characterized by minor construction and a gradual outflow of residents. According to archaeologists, the decline of the ancient capital began in the VIII-IX centuries, which partially coincides with the onset of the crisis of the entire Mayan civilization on Yucatan. By the time the Spanish colonialists came to these places, a small number of Mayans lived in the vicinity of the city, and Kalakmul itself began to overgrow with the jungle.

It was discovered only in the 30s of the last century during a flight over the jungle. Archaeologists began to study the ruins of Kalakmul, but at the moment the work is complicated by the oncoming thickets. In one of the pyramids, the burial place of the ruler of the Kanul kingdom was discovered, and, in all likelihood, the structure itself served as a temple.