[2] The ruins were officially reported to the Mexican government in June 1972 by Dr. Peter Harrison, an American archaeologist who was working on a project for The Royal Ontario Museum, and who also made the first maps of Chacchoben.

Harrison stumbled upon this site while flying a helicopter over Mexico and noticed numerous hills in predominantly flat lands.

[3] In 1994 the Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) began excavations and restored a significant part of the site, which was opened to the public in 2002.

Some structures still bear traces of the red paint with which they were originally coated, and INAH has set up shaded areas to prevent further degradation of this pigment by the sun.

Chacchoben is one of the more popular ruin sites in southern Quintana Roo, with regular tourist trips from the port of Costa Maya.