Ixlu

Ixlu

Unrestored architecture overlooking the Main Plaza
Location within Guatemala
Location	Flores
Region	Petén Department, Guatemala
Coordinates	16°58′19″N 89°41′9″W / 16.97194°N 89.68583°W / 16.97194; -89.68583
History
Periods	Classic - Postclassic
Cultures	Maya
Site notes
Architecture
Architectural styles	Classic and Postclassic Maya
Responsible body: Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes

Ixlu (/iʃˈluː/) is a small Maya archaeological site that dates to the Classic and Postclassic Periods. It is located on the isthmus between the Petén Itzá and Salpetén lakes, in the northern Petén Department of Guatemala. The site was an important port with access to Lake Petén Itzá via the Ixlu River. The site has been identified as Saklamakhal, also spelt Saclemacal, a capital of the Kowoj Maya.

The site has over 150 structures, the majority of which in the site core display typically Postclassic characteristics. The site was briefly investigated by Don and Prudence Rice in 1980.

Ixlu is located approximately 23 km (14 mi) east of the departmental capital of Flores and 275 km (171 mi) north of Guatemala City. Ixlu is approximately 28 km (17 mi) south of the ruins of the major Classic Period city of Tikal.

Archaeological investigations have uncovered potsherds dating as far back as the early Middle Preclassic (1000 BC–800 BC). Postclassic potsherds are widely distributed in the upper levels of the site to a depth of 30 to 40 cm (12 to 16 in). Evidence from the Temple of the Hidden Jars indicates a continuous occupation from the Preclassic right through the Classic (AD 200–900) to the Postclassic Period (AD 900–1525), with occupation continuing until approximately 1700, well after the Spanish Conquest of most of Guatemala, according to ethnohistoric sources. The Petén Lakes region finally fell to the Spanish Crown in 1697, at which time Ixlu was in disputed territory between the mutually hostile Itza and Kowoj kingdoms.

Fifty structures have been mapped at Ixlu by the Central Peten Historical Ecology Project. Nine of these are C-shaped bench superstructures and two are L-shaped.

Ixlu has two ballcourts and is one of only two Postclassic sites in the central Petén lakes region to have a recognisable ballcourt. However, both ballcourts at Ixlu apparently date to the Late Classic. The site possesses a twin pyramid complex, a feature that is rare outside of Tikal and probably indicates the political influence of that great city.