Tonight we air Part two of our series on the equinox at Caracol covered by Channel’s Five William Neal and Alex Ellis earlier this year. In this segment, Dr. Jaime Awe explains the significance of the equinox as well as the Mayan calendar. But did the Mayas believe the world would end in 2012? Find […]
Earlier this year Channel Five’s William Neal and Alex Ellis headed west to the Caracol Mayan site to witness the splendor of the spring equinox of the astrological Mayan calendar, which ends in December 2012. The event, the first of four coordinated by NICH and the B.T.B., was held at the base of Kaana. Our […]
It made national headlines at the start of the week when contractors working on Burns Avenue unearthed an array of Mayan artifacts in the heart of downtown San Ignacio. On Sunday, work on a sustainable tourism program was halted upon the discovery of ceramic vessels, stone tools and skeletal remains underground. Archaeologists have since observed […]
Downtown San Ignacio is famous for its seemingly never ending stream of visitors, mostly overnight tourists, wandering aimlessly through the heart of the culturally diverse community. Interestingly, Burns Avenue, the town’s main thoroughfare, was perhaps also the metropolis of a much larger, exclusive society. A recent discovery of relics dating back to the Late Pre-Classic […]
Awe says that the objects recovered from downtown San Ignacio are likely linked to an average family and will be prominently displayed at a new Welcome Center to be erected on Burns Avenue. Dr. Jaime Awe, Director, Institute of Archaeology “So, as we speak, you know, we have quite a number of people assisting us, […]
United States agencies have repatriated several prehistoric artifacts to Belize in recent years because both countries have become signatories to the Hold Harmless Release Agreement. This agreement allows countries to collaborate in matters regarding the protection of cultural property, especially those that are stolen. According to Jaime Awe, the Director of the Institute of Archeology, […]
The legacy of the Mayas is preserved in our local museums and at archaeological sites that were once stronghold Maya kingdoms. But since there aren’t enough people to excavate and to protect these sites, for decades looters have escaped with these historical artifacts. Occasionally our news teams encounter peddlers of ancient Maya history but Awe […]
A team of four Miskito Indians are in Belize on a fact finding mission. The team members, who are from the ‘Mosquito Coast’ which lies along the Nicaragua Coast and a section of Honduras, says that they have strong connections with Belize and are trying to piece together their history. Hector Williams Padilla, leader of […]
The Jades of Belize Exhibit has been running for the past five years at the Museum of Belize. Thousands have walked through the museum to experience the wonders of the Maya civilization. That exhibit has now been upgraded and given a face by curators Araceli Lita Hunter Krohn and Gilvano Swasey. Almost one year in […]
A traveling exhibition opened this morning at the House of Culture; the budding artists are students who sat the CSEC Exams. On display are the works that were submitted for the visual arts component of the regional exams over the past years. News Five’s Delahnie Bain had a look at the paintings, drawings and other […]
It’s not coming on line this year, but the Institute of Archaeology has announced an imminent increase in entrance fees to fourteen reserves. Prices at all the sites will be doubled, but according to the National Institute of Culture and History, they will remain the lowest in the region. So if you’re planning a visit, […]
For weeks there have been reports among tourism stakeholders that a price increase at national parks and archeological sites would soon come on stream. A few days ago, the Director of the Institute of Archaeology, Jaime Awe, dispatched an email indicating that the fees at Actun Tunichil Muknal would have been raised to fifty dollars, […]
It is not a summer camp, but the subject is totally absorbing the minds of a select group of young persons from around the country. They are between the ages of twelve and sixteen and for the entire week they will be spending time at the Petters Institute of Dangriga learning about the intriguing yet […]
This past Monday, the Supreme Court affirmed communal land tenure to the Mayas living in southern Belize. That settles the issue of property rights, but how did the Mayas really govern? Insight to that question will hopefully be found at a symposium that opened this morning at the San Ignacio Resort Hotel. It’s the eight […]
A lot of antiquities and treasures have been looted from Maya temples across the country. While many artifacts continue to be illegally smuggled out of the country, quite a few were legally removed when Belize was still a colony under the expansive arms of the British Empire. The following report is about one antiquity that […]
Cahal Pech is one of the oldest Maya sites in western Belize. Thirty four structures of the site were home to an elite Mayan family and most of its construction, fall within the Classic Maya period. Though habitation can be traced as far back as nine hundred B.C., recent excavations have revealed plenty about the […]
Open Your Eyes aired live from the vaults in the Yarborough this morning with a lesson on history to kick off our series “City Tours” that will feature landmarks in old capital. In case you did not know, the site was a burial ground, built in 1861 by German engineer Gustav Von Olhaffen. Years after […]
It’s the country’s first archaeological and historical park and its opening today culminated years of efforts to save the site. The Serpon Sugar Mill in Sittee River down south was the start of the industry that now flourishes in the north of the country. The mill was declared a reserve several years ago and developing […]
There are more questions than answers in the following story in which we found that a piece of the Caribbean Sea just outside San Pedro AC was surveyed in August in the name of a highly connected family in the island. There has been no environmental assessment done but can any individual own a piece […]
Last night we reported on the piece of land marked for sale in the San Pablo area of San Pedro Town. The land which was originally used as a park and there were plans for it to be converted into an archaeological site, but somehow it ended up in private hands. And this has raised […]
Our lead story tonight involves the controversial sale of a parcel of land in San Pedro Town that over the years has been used as a park. The purported sale has raised the ire of many who reside in the area and points to a questionable land transaction involving what is believed to be an […]
The fire that gutted landmark buildings in downtown Belize City, forever changed the face of the commercial hub and the hustle and bustle on Albert Street, but there is a silver lining to this story because work is beginning that will modernize the area, and with that will come new opportunities. Marion Ali reports. Umesh […]
After months of delay due to administrative snags, today the government finally closed a deal with CISCO Construction for the paving of the Placencia road. The twenty mile-long thoroughfare from the Southern Highway to the entrance of the village makes the ride to the Peninsula a real challenge and has been a sore point for […]
The dry season came to an apparent end this week and a tropical depression which promises to dump some four inches of water overnight on the old capital will have no mercy on the repair work being done on Albert and Regent Streets. Deputy Mayor Anthony Michael says while a little rain is okay, too […]
Technically speaking, street paving is not a complicated process but it is costly … which is why City Councils and town boards across the country say road works in their first two years in office have been limited to patching. But with the United Democratic Party in power, the friendlier relationship between the municipal bodies […]
