Page One

George And Audrey DeLange

Lamanai is the only Mayan ruin to use its original name. It is interesting that the name contains the name of a Book Of Mormon Lamanite, King Laman, who according to Professor of Archaeology, Joseph L. Allen; this ruins could have been named after. (The names, locations, activities of the people, and time period fit.) The ruins of Lamanai, one of Belize's largest ceremonial centers, are located on the banks of the 30 mile long New River Lagoon in North Central Belize. Lamanai features the second largest Pre-Classic structure in the Maya world and the view across the surrounding forest from the top of the temple is magnificent. Lamanai has been continuously occupied for over 3000 years. Lamanai's remoteness contributed to it's continuous occupation beyond most other Maya sites, until at least 1,650 AD. Lamanai is one of only a few sites whose original Maya name is known - since it translates to "Submerged Crocodile" hence the numerous representations of crocodiles here. The name "Lamanai," appears in 16th and 17th century documents as a Spanish rendering of a Maya name, which we think was originally Laman'ayin ("submerged crocodile"). In front of one temple stands a 13-foot stone temple mask of a Maya king. There is an abundance of wildlife inside the park surrounding Lamanai. There are at least seven families of howler monkeys that make Lamanai their home and you will most likely see a couple of them peering down through the branches as you wander the trails. In addition, the marshlands around the lagoon supports many species of water birds and wildlife, including crocodiles. Lamanai is spread out along the west bank of the New River Lagoon at a point where the New River flows from the lagoon on its 80-mile journey, north to Chetumal Bay and the Caribbean. The New River, known to the Maya as Dzuluinicob ("foreign men") was one of the arteries used by the conquering Spaniards and missionizing friars as they attempted to penetrate the forests of the Maya lowlands. Page One will show the trip up The New River, past the sugar cane processing plant to the visitors center. It also will feature the "Temple Of The Masks", also known as Structure "N9-56".. Page Two will feature the small museum at the site near the visitors center. When on site we were fortunate enough to meet Dr. David Pendergast and he was kind enough to show us some of his work (he had just minutes earlier, made a discovery) and he let us observe his work on that discovery.