Japan has donated $6 million to build a conservation and research center at Tikal in northern Guatemala, the largest archaeological site and urban center of the Maya civilization, a Japanese diplomatic source said Monday.
The complex, to hold laboratories for archaeological research and a digital archive center, will also store and display Mayan relics at Tikal National Park, a popular Unesco World Heritage Site near the Belize border, said Japanese embassy official Jisasi Ueno.
The center would likely be opened 18 months after construction begins, said assistant secretary Hideyuki Takaoka of the embassy's Office of Technical and Financial Cooperation, although no word was given when building would start.
Tikal was the most powerful city state in the Mayan world—construction began in 4 BC but it existed as the ruling urban center from around 200 to 900 AD. Evidence suggest the site was abandoned towards the end of the 10th century.
Source: Inside Costa Rica