Lost and Found.

Tikal is located in Northern Guatemala (Tikal National Park) and  is one of the largest archaeological sites and urban centers of the pre-Columbian Maya Civilization.   It is known to be one of the most powerful kingdoms of ancient Maya.  The site was named Tikal after it's discovery, meaning "at the waterhole" or "the place of the voices" in the Itza Maya language.  Hieroglyphics inscriptions at the ruins refer to the ancient city as Yax Mutal or Yax Mutul, meaning "First Mutual".  It was commonly referred to as "Mutul". The site dates back to the 4th century BC and reached it's height between 200 and 900 AD.  The site then declined and was abandoned in the 10th century.  The population of Tikal proper was estimated to be somewhere between 10,000 and 90,000 inhabitants, however the surrounding area was believed to be the home of 450,000 persons.   The city is covered by an area of 16 square miles and is home to about 3,000 structures.  It consists of a series of parallel limestone ridges rising above swampy lowlands.  The ruins are within a tropical rainforest that was home to abundant fertile land. The city had no water source except for what was collected during periods of rainfall and was carefully stored in reservoirs. The remains of temples over 230ft high, massive royal palaces, smaller pyramids, residences, administrative buildings, platforms and stone monuments can be seen at the site.  A presumed jail has also been found with wooden bars across the windows.  Seven courts for playing Mesoamerican ball game have been discovered. Most of the structures were made of limestone taken from a local quarry on-site.  Ancient roadways with signs have been found leading to the site.