William Kennedy traveled to Belize in 2015 where he toured the ancient Mayan ruin of Xunantunich. Xunantunich is located in western Belize and features the second tallest structure in Belize, a temple called El Castillo that is 130 feet tall. The site covers one square mile and consists of six plazas surrounded by over 26 temples and palaces, with the highlight being climbing to the top of El Castillo for views of the surrounding area.

1. Belize’s Ancient Mayan Ruin
at Xunantunich

2. William A. Kennedy is the President and CEO of Kennedy Technical Consulting
Services, LLC. His consulting business is located in Arlington, VA. Bill Kennedy’s
company provides the full gamut of business development services to his clients.
These services include: marketing, opportunity identification and development,
capture, strategy, proposal management and technical writing, and orals
coaching. Bill Kennedy applies his over 30 years of experience with Federal
government contracting to successfully position, capture and win work for his
clients.
William Kennedy is also a avid traveler and over the years he has traveled to over
35 countries to include China, India, Tibet, and Russia to name a few. In early
2015, he had the opportunity to travel to Belize where he had the opportunity to
tour Xunantunich, an ancient Mayan ruin located in western Belize.*
* Photos by Bill Kennedy

3. XUNANTUNICH – MAYAN RUIN
• Xunantunich is an ancient Mayan
archaeological site in western Belize,
about 80 miles west of Belize City, in the
Cayo District.
• Xunantunich means "stone woman" in the
Mayan language and is its modern name.
Its ancient name is currently unknown.
• The first modern explorations of the site
were conducted by Thomas Gann from
Great Britain in the mid-1890s.

4. XUNANTUNICH – MAYAN RUIN
• The temple in the picture to the right is
known as the El Castillo and is the main
temple at this site.
• El Castillo is the second tallest structure
in Belize at some 130 feet tall.
• Climbing to the top of this temple is the
highlight of this tour.

5. XUNANTUNICH – MAYAN RUIN
• Xunantunich is located atop a ridge above
the Mopan River.
• Before entering the Xunantunich site you
first have to cross the river on this hand-
cranked ferry.

6. XUNANTUNICH – MAYAN RUIN
• Xunantunich is approximately 1 kilometer
(.62 mile) from the Guatemala border to
the west.
• The picture to the right was taken from
the top of the temple and looks west into
Guatemala.

7. XUNANTUNICH – MAYAN RUIN
• The Xunantunich site covers about one
square mile and consists of a series of six
plazas. There are more than 26 temples
and palaces surrounding these plazas.
• The picture to the right is looking to the
east from the top of the temple and
shows some of the other temples and
palaces on the site.

8. XUNANTUNICH – MAYAN RUIN
• The stucco or friezes in these pictures are on the north (left) and south (right) sides of the
temple. Friezes depict many things. Each section of the frieze is broken up by framing
bands of plaited cloth or twisted cords (which represent celestial phenomena).

9. XUNANTUNICH – MAYAN RUIN
• The picture to the left shows one of the
ball courts at Xunantunich.
• Formal ballgames were held as ritual
events, often featuring human sacrifice.
According to the tour guide, it was the
winning team/team members that were
sacrificed because the Mayans wanted to
send the best to the next life.
• The ball was made of solid rubber and
weighed up to 9 lbs. Players struck the
ball with their hips, although some
versions allowed the use of forearms,
rackets, bats, or handstones.