El Baúl

The El Baúl acropolis is located 4 km north of Santa Lucía Cotzumalguapa, 550 metres (1,800 ft) above sea level, 50 kilometres (31 mi) from the Pacific Ocean.

Its southern acropolis complex was destroyed in 1997 by urban development and the main groups are now covered by sugar cane fields.

The P31 stratigraphic pit continued below these deposits to a depth of 3.78 metres (12.4 ft), revealing volcanic ash layers derived from the adjacent Fuego volcano.

The largest causeway is 2.5 kilometres (1.6 mi) long and ranges from 11 to 14 metres (36 to 46 ft) wide, joining the acropoli of Bilbao and El Baúl.

An excavation carried out on the western side of the river gorge revealed two constructional stages for the causeway at this location, both of which date to the Late Classic period.