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Tulúm: site plan

Tulúm overlooks the Caribbean from steep cliffs on its east side. Virtually all visible structures at Tulum date from the Late Postclassic (AD 1250-1540), when the site was an important trading and ceremonial center. Within a walled enclosure of 385 by 165 m, Tulúm is laid out along a planned street axis. The main plaza or recinto interior, within a low masonry wall near the edge of the cliff, centers around the Castillo. The outer masonry wall, 2-5 m high and 6 m thick, has guardhouses beside the NE gateway and watchtowers on its NW and SW corners. Roads lead  out from each of the five gates.

[Fig.1: Site Plan of Tulúm (after Lothrop 1924).]

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