Chacchoben

Chacchoben (Maya for "Place of Red Maize") is a Maya ruin site in Quintana Roo, Mexico, approximately 177 km south of Tulum. Archaeological evidence places the earliest human presence around 1000 BC, with Maya settlement beginning c. 200 BC and major structures dating to around 700 AD. The ceremonial centre spans nearly six square kilometres within the "Region of the Lakes" and features the Gran Basamento as its most prominent structure. In 1942, local farmer Serviliano Cohuo rediscovered the overgrown ruins; Dr. Peter Harrison of Tulane University became the first professional archaeologist to study the site in 1972. INAH launched restoration in 1994, and in 2002 the site was officially designated a Historical Site and opened to the public.