Cerros

Cerros is a Maya archaeological site on a peninsula at the mouth of the New River in Corozal Bay, northern Belize, occupied from about 400 BC to 400 AD. At its peak it held roughly 2,000 inhabitants who served as merchants facilitating trade between the coast and inland cities. The ceremonial centre features Temple 1 (Structure 5C-2), a three-tiered truncated pyramid adorned with four massive stucco masks depicting solar and Venus deities and the Hero Twins. Structure 4b, the tallest at 22 metres, contains a corbeled roof chamber. The site includes two ballcourts, a man-made canal separating the ceremonial core from residential areas, and raised agricultural fields. Thomas Gann first documented Cerros in 1900, with systematic excavations by David Freidel beginning in 1974.