Tulum

Tulum is the site of a pre-Columbian Mayan walled city which served as a major port for Coba, in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo [1]. The ruins are situated on 12-meter-tall cliffs along the east coast of the Yucatán Peninsula on the Caribbean Sea [1]. Tulum was one of the last cities built and inhabited by the Maya and achieved its greatest prominence between the 13th and 15th centuries [1]. Maya continued to occupy Tulum for about 70 years after the Spanish began exploring Mexico, but the city was abandoned by the end of the 16th century [1]. Tulum is one of the best-preserved coastal Maya sites [1]. Tulum had access to both land and sea trade routes, making it an important trade hub, especially for obsidian [1]. From numerous depictions in murals and other works around the site, Tulum appears to have been an important site for the worship of the Diving or Descending god [1]. Tulum was protected on one side by steep sea cliffs and on the landward side by a wall that averaged about 3–5 meters in height [1].