Tulum: Ancient Mayan City by the Sea
Tulum is a pre-Columbian Maya site located on the Caribbean coast of the Yucatán Peninsula, in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. It’s one of the best-preserved coastal Maya cities and uniquely situated on a cliff overlooking the turquoise waters of the Caribbean Sea.
Historical Background
Time period: Tulum flourished during the Late Postclassic period (around 1200–1500 AD).
It was a trading hub, especially for goods like obsidian, jade, textiles, and salt.
Tulum’s original Maya name was likely Zamá, meaning “City of Dawn,” reflecting its east-facing location.
Main Structures
1. El Castillo (The Castle):
o Perched dramatically on a cliff.
o Possibly used as a lighthouse or lookout tower for approaching canoes.
2. Temple of the Frescoes:
o Contains wall paintings that depict gods and cosmological scenes.
o A fine example of Maya mural art.
3. Temple of the Descending God:
o Named for a sculpture of a figure descending from the sky — thought to represent a bee god or Venus deity.
Also known as “House of Columns” at the Tulum ruins is a palace-like structure with four rooms and six columns supporting the roof of its main room and top sanctuary. It’s also known as “El Palacio” (The Palace) and was likely the residence for important Mayan leaders.
“Cenote” translates to sinkhole in English. It refers to a deep sinkhole in limestone, often with a pool of water at the bottom, commonly found in the Yucatan Peninsula. The dark area is the hole in the ground
Under the House of the Cenote in Tulum, archaeologists discovered a natural cenote (a freshwater sinkhole), which is what gives the structure its name. The cenote was likely a vital water source for the inhabitants and may have also held ritual significance, as cenotes were considered sacred in Maya cosmology—often seen as entrances to the underworld (Xibalba).
While no spectacular treasure was reported found in the cenote at this particular site, findings from the House of the Cenote and similar structures in Tulum include:
Ceramic fragments
Stone tools
Bones (animal and possibly human, though not necessarily from this specific cenote)
Architectural evidence indicating residential or ceremonial use
The presence of a cenote beneath a house is unusual and suggests the building may have had a ritual or elite function, not just domestic. The Maya often built important structures near or above cenotes for religious reasons.
If you’re asking whether there were specific high-profile discoveries (like gold or major burial sites) under that house—there haven’t been publicized finds of that nature specifically tied to the House of the Cenote in Tulum. But its unique placement over a cenote certainly adds to its archaeological and symbolic importance.
The most important building at Tulum, built with its back to the sea on the highest part of the cliff. The product of several construction stages, it is higher and larger than any of the other buildings at the site. A wide stairway with balustrades leads to the temple at the top, which contains two room accessed via three serpent columns. The façade displays two zoomorphic masks at the corners and three niches, the middle one of which contains the figure of a diving god. Flanking the stairway are two adoratoriums and at the foot of it a platform that was probably used for dance rituals.
The “House of Columns” (also known as El Palacio or The Palace) is a significant structure within the Tulum archaeological site, characterized by its rows of columns and multiple rooms. It is believed to have served as a residence for important Mayan leaders and potentially as a ceremonial center.
The Temple of the Frescoes in Tulum had an important social and religious importance; its architectural elements, murals, decorations, sculptures and general appearance point to a place of profound veneration.
The name of this building is due to the fact that in the back room of the first floor there are still remains of a mural painting on stucco, in black, green, yellow and mainly red with representations of female and male deities, intertwined snakes, offerings dedicated to the Gods like flowers, fruits and ears of corn.
The vestiges of the paintings found inside the Temple of the Frescos in Tulum represent schematic deities made with lines in an area of approximately 8m long by less than 1m high.
The Temple of the Frescoes’ first floor
The Temple of the Frescoes in Tulum is a small two-story building, the first floor has two rooms and 4 monolithic columns that forms the entrance gaps. It also has 3 niches with the figure of the descending god in the center and two standing figures on both sides.
In the corners of the frieze you can see large stuccoed masks that possibly represented the God Itzamná, the Mayan god creator.
The Temple of the Frescoes’ second floor
The second floor is a single small sanctuary decorated with red colored handprints. The outside of the temple has 3 horizontal protruding strips, and above the doorway there’s a niche with the figure of the descending god.
Building stages of the Temple of the Frescoes
During its first stage of construction a chamber with an altar was erected, murals on the facade and an entrance decorated with a human figure with his head down.
The second stage consisted of a gallery with entrances formed by several columns decorated with plaster figures. Later, part of the gallery was filled with stone to be used as a base for the upper temple.
The House of the Chultun, a residential construction. The three entrances, defined by columns, lead to a large interior space which once had a flat roof made of wooden beams and lime concrete. Like most the buildings at Tulum, the façade displays a diving god. At the south-west corner of the building we can see a chultun, a type of cistern for collecting rainwater, from which the house takes its name.