It took us about half of the day to drive from Rio Bec across the base of the Yucatan peninsula to the ruins of Edzna. We got there about mid-day to find a wonderfully restored site. The weather was bright and sunny, perhaps the heat kept the other tourists away. We saw hardly any other visitors, which is a shame, because Edzna is an impressive site to see. Edzna is only about an hour from Campeche, so any one sightseeing in that city should make the effort out to see these ruins. There was a big sign at the entrance which reads:

Edzna was the most important pre-Columbian city in western Campeche. It was founded around 600 B.C. and occupied until the 15th century. Many thousands of people must have lived there during its apogee, between 600 and 900 A.D. The size of the ancient city has been calculated to have covered 25 square kilometers and it had a complete system for capturing, storing and distrbuting rain water.

The word Edzna is probably derived from Itzna, meaning the "House of the Itzaes" in Maya. Itza, the pre-Columbian name of the family which must have governed the ancient city between 800 and 1000 A.D., was given to all the inhabitants of the area. Thus, though they had distinct family names, they were called Itzaes by the people of the other cities.

Edzna was discovered in 1907. Exploration began in 1928 and the first excavations were carried out in 1958.

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