Altun Ha is located in the north – central part of the Belize District on the old Northern Highway, 31 miles from Belize City. Contains a structure B-4 (Temple of the Masonry Alters), the tallest, best preserved structure at the site and the place where one of the largest carved jades in the Mayan world was found. It was an important trading center between the Caribbean and the interior featuring two main plazas with some thirteen temples in a pleasant park- like atmosphere. It was also one of the major ceremonial centers during the classic Period. Many tombs discovered during extensive excavations and restorations from 1964-1978. Burial goods included hundreds of jades and green obsidian blades, some traceable directly to Teotihuacan in central Mexico. An unusual feature at Altun Ha is the absence of carved stelae.
