Ten miles north of Merida on the highway to the seaport of Progreso is a 6 mile paved turnoff to the right leading to the ruins of Dzibilchaltun, an ancient ceremonial center. The largest known and longest lived Maya site, its structures cover almost 20 square miles. Though a major portion of the central area has been cleared, for the most part the ruins are unrestored. Within this cleared area is a cenote, a large, deep, natural well into which offerings (including some human victims) were made to the water gods, and from which a great many artifacts have been recovered.
Also in the central section is the site's most inWresting structure, the Temple of the Seven Dolls, named for the offering of seven rubber dolls encountered by archaeologists during excavation. At the entrance to the site is a small but well organ , ized museum that, for orientation's sake, should
be the first stop on your tour.
