Defensive Wall - Tulum, Mexico
Posted by: 
denben
N 20° 12.977 W 087° 25.687
16Q E 455277 N 2235473
The defensive wall of Tulum, the site of a pre-Columbian Mayan fortified town serving as a major port for Cobá, in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo.
Waymark Code: WMY498
Location: Quintana Roo, Mexico
Date Posted: 04/17/2018
Views: 6
Tulúm is the Yucatan Mayan word for fence, wall or trench. The walls surrounding the site allowed the Tulum fort to be defended against invasions.
Tulum was protected on one side by steep sea cliffs and on the landward side by a wall that averaged about 3–5 meters (9.8–16.4 ft) in height. The wall also was about 8 m (26 ft) thick and 400 m (1,300 ft) long on the side parallel to the sea. The part of the wall that ran the width of the site was slightly shorter and only about 170 meters (560 ft) on both sides. Constructing this massive wall would have taken an enormous amount of energy and time, which shows how important defense was to the Maya when they chose this site. On the southwest and northwest corners there are small structures that have been identified as watch towers, showing again how well defended the city was.
There are five narrow gateways in the wall with two each on the north and south sides and one on the west. It is this impressive wall that makes Tulum one of the most well-known fortified sites of the Maya.
Above the entrance in the western wall a stucco figure of the “diving god” is still preserved, giving the temple its name. A mural can still be seen on the eastern wall that resembles that of a style that originated in highland Mexico, called the Mixteca-Puebla style, though visitors are no longer permitted to enter.
The information panel says:
"Tulum is surrounded by a huge wall that had served both for defense and to delimit a sacred area. Its height is irregular since it follows the contours of the land; it has the shape of a rectangle but with only three sides, because the side facing the sea is naturally protected.
The wall has only five entrances: one to the west, two to the north and two to the south. From the inside you can climb it with stairs built for the purpose."
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