Labna facts for kids
Labna (or Labná) is an amazing ancient city built by the Maya civilization long ago, before Europeans came to the Americas. It's a special place in the Yucatán Peninsula in Mexico, surrounded by the Puuc Hills. Labna is close to another famous Maya city called Uxmal. In 1996, Labna and Uxmal were together named a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which means they are very important places protected for everyone to see and learn from.
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What You'll See at Labna
Labna isn't a huge city, but it has some really cool buildings. One of the most impressive is a big two-story building called "El Palacio" (The Palace). It's super long, about 120 meters (almost 400 feet)!
From the palace, there's a special ancient road called a sacbe. This road leads to a beautifully decorated gateway arch, known as "El Arco" (The Arch). This arch is about 3 meters (10 feet) wide and 6 meters (20 feet) tall. It has amazing carved designs, called bas-reliefs, that are still in great shape. The arch wasn't an entrance to the whole city, but more like a special pathway between different public areas.
Right next to the arch, you'll find "El Mirador", which is a pyramid-like structure with a temple on top. There's also another building called the Temple of the Columns.
The Amazing Architecture
The buildings at Labna show off a special style of Maya architecture called Puuc. This style uses carefully cut stones to create detailed patterns and pictures. You'll see many masks of the long-nosed rain god, Chaac, carved into the buildings. The Maya people believed Chaac brought the rain that helped their crops grow.
A Look Back in Time
Labna was built during a time called the Late and Terminal Classic era of the Maya civilization. This was a period when the Maya culture was very strong and many great cities were built. There's even a date carved into the palace that tells us it was built around the year AD 862.
The first people from outside the Maya world to write about Labna were John Lloyd Stephens and artist Frederick Catherwood. They visited the site in 1842 and made detailed drawings and notes about what they saw.
Today, Labna is open for visitors to explore and learn about the ancient Maya. It's a fantastic place to imagine what life was like thousands of years ago!
Global Friendship
As a sign of friendship between India and Mexico, a copy of the famous Arch at Labna was recently put up in a garden in New Delhi, India. It's a nice way to show goodwill between the two countries.
Images for kids
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The Gateway Arch
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Gateway at Labna (also known as Labna Vault), as drawn by Frederick Catherwood.
See also
In Spanish: Labná para niños
