 Cerros
is located on a 53-acre archaeological reserve atop a hill overlooking the Chetumal bay. A somewhat important trading center in the pre-classic
era, Cerros was not a particularly long-lived city. The ruins can be reached by a short boat ride from Corozal.
This
city began its relatively short life in 400 B.C. Having the good fortune of being founded on the Chetumal
Bay and being quite close to the New River, it became an important
trading center. Jade
and obsidian trickled through its markets and it became
quite prosperous. Then
around 100 A.D, trade routes that fed this thriving city stopped
and went to other trading centers. The only option for the citizens of Cerros was to leave the city and seek their fortune elsewhere.
 Cerros
sits on top of a hill and is allowed a beautiful panoramic
view of the surrounding areas. The tallest temple stands 21 feet over the rest of the
city. The site
is dominated by three acropolises. The pyramid-like structure holds court over several Plazas. Erosion is slowly eating away at two large structures
and their collection of masks. Due to a lack of funding the masks have had to be covered
up with plaster obscuring their visibility.
Peter
Schmidt and Joseph Palacio first of all recorded Cerros as an
archaeological site in 1969, though Thomas Gann was the first
to notice it. A
Dallas-based organization tried to develop this place as a major
tourist site with an on-site museum, but it eventually
went bankrupt and the potential of Cerros was never realized.
Excavation began in 1973. The last excavation of the site was in 1983 when the
canals and other related structures were tested for organic
materials. |
