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                               Roving at Becán

                                   © Mike Reed

      Nothing prepared me for the beauty of Becán. I had poured through the guidebooks and the myriad of books and texts on the Maya civilization but each description of Becán was lacking in defining any flavor for the place. What I found there was a truly lovely combination of forest and large restored pyramids, temples, palaces and plazas. It is another sleeping gem of Maya cities, yet to be discovered by the masses. Its crowded buildings and plazas are a maze that is a delight to get lost within.      

Located just four miles west on the ruins of Xpuhil, on the north side of Highway 186 its pyramids rise above the canopy in the distance from the pavement. A short dirt road leads to a parking area, where a very friendly and talkative gatekeeper handles the admission and will offer the visitor a guided tour for a small “propina.” He said he worked on the excavations and showed me a binder with photos of him assisting archaeologists in their work. I declined the offer because I was on a tight schedule but later regretted the personal insights that excavator/guides can offer. Next time I won’t turn him down.
       Becán is surrounded by the only dry moat known in the Maya world. It dates from the Pre-classic (around AD 150) and is defensive in nature. The earth and rocks excavated in constructing the ditch were used to build a rampart, doubling the height invaders would be required to scale in order to penetrate the city. This moat was an early hint of the constant fighting that we now know characterized the ancient Maya. 

In the 1940’s, 50’s and 60’s, at a time when many Maya scholars referred to the ancient Maya as peaceful intellectuals, Becán’s moat was conveniently thought of as indicating a possibly war-like ending to an otherwise peaceful city. In reality, the dating of the moat as being at the end of the Pre-classic period does suggest a struggle to maintain the order of the trade routes at a time when large Maya centers like El Mirador were collapsing and centers like Tikal and nearby Calakmul were on the ascent. The archaeological evidence shows that Becán declined as an important center at the end of the Pre-classic, only to regain importance in the late classic, when virtually all of the present visible structures were built.
       The moat can be crossed by seven causeways, the one near the entrance station being the principal entrance to the site today. I reentered the forest as I crossed over the entrance causeway from the parking lot. The setting is park-like with tall vine-covered trees filling the spaces between excavated buildings and paths and climbing up the sides of the unexcavated pyramids. Then the forest opened up to large plazas surrounded by nicely restored multi-storied palaces and temples. Being alone in such wide-open plazas with structures in every direction was very non-threatening and very much like being in the downtown of a modern city on a Sunday morning before people wake up.
       Becán’s architecture combines elements of the Río Bec and Petén styles. Some temples rest atop low pyramids with fallen temple roofs and partial roof combs and broad staircases. They might fit in well in any Petén center. Other complexes display the Río Bec manner of building rooms into the sides of large pyramidal structures as if combining the sacred with the palace features. The large size of some of the structures indicates Becán was a site of considerable importance. One unusual feature of the site is the foundation of a round temple, speculated to be dedicated to the wind god. It occupies a prominent place in the main plaza.
     In my hurry to see several important ruins on the same day my hour-long stay didn’t do justice to the beauty and fascination that is Becán. There will definitely be a next time.                                    

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