Main Plaza Complex

16.4128°N, 90.2853°W.

The Main Plaza Complex at Aguateca in the Petexbatun region of Guatemala is the elevated ceremonial precinct of the twin capital that shared rule of the Petexbatun lords with Dos Pilas during the Late Classic. The complex was built between approximately 700 and 830 CE on a defensive escarpment above the Petexbatun lagoon, of cut limestone faced with stucco. Aguateca is one of the few Maya cities whose final destruction is preserved in archaeological context — the site was attacked, burned, and abandoned around 830 CE, and the artifacts of its last occupants were left in place on the floors of their houses, sealed by collapsed and burned roofing. Takeshi Inomata's excavations from 1996 onward have recovered tools, food remains, and household goods in their original positions.

The Main Plaza Complex is a building in a city that was burned to the ground and where the contents of the rooms were left exactly where they fell.