 Lloyd Stephens in the early 19th century ( Stephens and his illustrator Frederick Catherwood heard rumors of a lost city , with white building tops towering above the jungle , during their 1839 @-@ 40 travels in the region ) . Because of the site 's remoteness from modern towns , however , no explorers visited Tikal until Modesto Méndez and Ambrosio Tut , respectively the commissioner and the governor of Petén , visited it in 1848 . Artist Eusebio Lara accompanied them and their account was published in Germany in 1853 . Several other expeditions came to further investigate , map , and photograph Tikal in the 19th century ( including Alfred P. Maudslay in 1881 @-@ 82 ) and the early 20th century . Pioneering archaeologists started to clear , map and record the ruins in the 1880s .   In 1951 , a small airstrip was built at the ruins , which previously could only be reached by several days ' travel through the jungle on foot or mule . In 1956 the Tikal project began to map the city on a scale not previously seen in the Maya area . From 1956 through 1970 , major archaeological excavations were carried out by the University of Pennsylvania Tikal Project . They mapped much of the site and excavated and restored many of the structures . Excavations directed by Edwin M. Shook and later by William Coe of the university investigated the North Acropolis and the Central Plaza from 1957 to 1969 . The Tikal Project recorded over 200 monuments at the site . In 1979 , the Guatemalan government began a further archeological project at Tikal , which continued through to 1984 .   Filmmaker George Lucas used Tikal as a filming location for the first Star Wars film , Episode IV : A New Hope , released in 1977 . Temple I at Tikal was featured on the reverse of the 50 centavo banknote .   Tikal is now a major tourist attraction surrounded by its own national park . A site museum has been built at Tikal ; it was completed in 1964 .   = = Site description = =   Tikal has been partially restored by the University of Pennsylvania and the government of Guatemala . It was one of the largest of the Classic period Maya cities and was one of the largest cities in the Americas . The architecture of the ancient city is built from limestone and includes the remains of temples that tower over 70 metres ( 230 ft ) high , large royal palaces , in addition to a number of smaller pyramids , palaces , residences , administrative buildings , platforms and inscribed stone monuments . There is even a building which seemed to have been a jail , originally with wooden bars across the windows and doors . There are also seven courts for playing the Mesoamerican ballgame , including a set of 3 in the Seven Temples Plaza , a unique feature in Mesoamerica .   The limestone used for construction was local and quarried on @-@ site . The depressions formed by the extraction of stone for building were plastered to waterproof them and were used as reservoirs , together with some waterproofed natural depressions . The main plazas were surfaced with stucco and laid at a gradient that channelled rainfall into a system of canals that fed the reservoirs .   The residential area of Tikal covers an estimated 60 square kilometres ( 23 sq mi ) , much of which has not yet been cleared , mapped , or excavated . A huge set of earthworks discovered by Dennis E. Puleston and Donald Callender in the 1960s rings Tikal with a 6 @-@ metre ( 20 ft ) wide trench behind a rampart . The 16 square kilometres ( 6 @.@ 2 sq mi ) area around the site core has been intensively mapped ; it may have enclosed an area of some 125 square kilometres ( 48 sq mi ) ( see below ) . Population estimates place the demographic size of the site between 10 @,@ 000 and 90 @,@ 000 , and possibly 425 @,@ 000 in the surrounding area . Recently , a project exploring the defensive earthworks has shown that the scale of the earthworks is highly variable and that in many places it is inconsequential as a defensive feature . In addition , some parts of the earthwork were integrated into a canal system . The earthwork of Tikal varies significantly in coverage from what was originally proposed and it is much more complex and multifaceted than originally thought .   = = = Causeways = = =   By the Late Classic , a network of sacbeob ( causeways ) linked various parts of the city , running for several kilometres through its urban core . These linked the Great Plaza with Temple 4 ( located about 750 metres ( 2 @,@ 460 ft ) to the west ) and the Temple of the Inscriptions ( about 1 kilometre ( 0 @.@ 62 mi ) to the southeast ) . These broad causeways were built of packed and plastered limestone and have been named after early explorers and archaeologists ; the Mal
ĠLloyd ĠStephens Ġin Ġthe Ġearly Ġ19 th Ġcentury Ġ( ĠStephens Ġand Ġhis Ġillust rator ĠFrederick ĠC ather wood Ġheard Ġrumors Ġof Ġa Ġlost Ġcity Ġ, Ġwith Ġwhite Ġbuilding Ġtops Ġtowering Ġabove Ġthe Ġjungle Ġ, Ġduring Ġtheir Ġ18 39 Ġ@ - @ Ġ40 Ġtravels Ġin Ġthe Ġregion Ġ) Ġ. ĠBecause Ġof Ġthe Ġsite Ġ' s Ġrem ot eness Ġfrom Ġmodern Ġtowns Ġ, Ġhowever Ġ, Ġno Ġexplorers Ġvisited ĠTik al Ġuntil ĠModest o ĠMÃ© nd ez Ġand ĠAmb ros io ĠTut Ġ, Ġrespectively Ġthe Ġcommissioner Ġand Ġthe Ġgovernor Ġof ĠPet Ã©n Ġ, Ġvisited Ġit Ġin Ġ18 48 Ġ. ĠArtist ĠE use b io ĠLara Ġaccompanied Ġthem Ġand Ġtheir Ġaccount Ġwas Ġpublished Ġin ĠGermany Ġin Ġ18 53 Ġ. ĠSeveral Ġother Ġexped itions Ġcame Ġto Ġfurther Ġinvestigate Ġ, Ġmap Ġ, Ġand Ġphotograph ĠTik al Ġin Ġthe Ġ19 th Ġcentury Ġ( Ġincluding ĠAlfred ĠP . ĠM aud sl ay Ġin Ġ18 81 Ġ@ - @ Ġ82 Ġ) Ġand Ġthe Ġearly Ġ20 th Ġcentury Ġ. ĠPione ering Ġarchaeologists Ġstarted Ġto Ġclear Ġ, Ġmap Ġand Ġrecord Ġthe Ġruins Ġin Ġthe Ġ1880 s Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠIn Ġ1951 Ġ, Ġa Ġsmall Ġairst rip Ġwas Ġbuilt Ġat Ġthe Ġruins Ġ, Ġwhich Ġpreviously Ġcould Ġonly Ġbe Ġreached Ġby Ġseveral Ġdays Ġ' Ġtravel Ġthrough Ġthe Ġjungle Ġon Ġfoot Ġor Ġm ule Ġ. ĠIn Ġ1956 Ġthe ĠTik al Ġproject Ġbegan Ġto Ġmap Ġthe Ġcity Ġon Ġa Ġscale Ġnot Ġpreviously Ġseen Ġin Ġthe ĠMaya Ġarea Ġ. ĠFrom Ġ1956 Ġthrough Ġ1970 Ġ, Ġmajor Ġarchaeological Ġexcav ations Ġwere Ġcarried Ġout Ġby Ġthe ĠUniversity Ġof ĠPennsylvania ĠTik al ĠProject Ġ. ĠThey Ġmapped Ġmuch Ġof Ġthe Ġsite Ġand Ġexcav ated Ġand Ġrestored Ġmany Ġof Ġthe Ġstructures Ġ. ĠExc av ations Ġdirected Ġby ĠEdwin ĠM . ĠSh ook Ġand Ġlater Ġby ĠWilliam ĠCo e Ġof Ġthe Ġuniversity Ġinvestigated Ġthe ĠNorth ĠAc ropolis Ġand Ġthe ĠCentral ĠPlaza Ġfrom Ġ1957 Ġto Ġ1969 Ġ. ĠThe ĠTik al ĠProject Ġrecorded Ġover Ġ200 Ġmonuments Ġat Ġthe Ġsite Ġ. ĠIn Ġ1979 Ġ, Ġthe ĠGuatem alan Ġgovernment Ġbegan Ġa Ġfurther Ġarche ological Ġproject Ġat ĠTik al Ġ, Ġwhich Ġcontinued Ġthrough Ġto Ġ1984 Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠFil mm aker ĠGeorge ĠLucas Ġused ĠTik al Ġas Ġa Ġfilming Ġlocation Ġfor Ġthe Ġfirst ĠStar ĠWars Ġfilm Ġ, ĠEpisode ĠIV Ġ: ĠA ĠNew ĠHope Ġ, Ġreleased Ġin Ġ1977 Ġ. ĠTemple ĠI Ġat ĠTik al Ġwas Ġfeatured Ġon Ġthe Ġreverse Ġof Ġthe Ġ50 Ġcent av o Ġbank note Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠTik al Ġis Ġnow Ġa Ġmajor Ġtourist Ġattraction Ġsurrounded Ġby Ġits Ġown Ġnational Ġpark Ġ. ĠA Ġsite Ġmuseum Ġhas Ġbeen Ġbuilt Ġat ĠTik al Ġ; Ġit Ġwas Ġcompleted Ġin Ġ1964 Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= ĠSite Ġdescription Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠTik al Ġhas Ġbeen Ġpartially Ġrestored Ġby Ġthe ĠUniversity Ġof ĠPennsylvania Ġand Ġthe Ġgovernment Ġof ĠGuatemala Ġ. ĠIt Ġwas Ġone Ġof Ġthe Ġlargest Ġof Ġthe ĠClassic Ġperiod ĠMaya Ġcities Ġand Ġwas Ġone Ġof Ġthe Ġlargest Ġcities Ġin Ġthe ĠAmericas Ġ. ĠThe Ġarchitecture Ġof Ġthe Ġancient Ġcity Ġis Ġbuilt Ġfrom Ġlimestone Ġand Ġincludes Ġthe Ġremains Ġof Ġtemples Ġthat Ġtower Ġover Ġ70 Ġmetres Ġ( Ġ230 Ġft Ġ) Ġhigh Ġ, Ġlarge Ġroyal Ġpal aces Ġ, Ġin Ġaddition Ġto Ġa Ġnumber Ġof Ġsmaller Ġpy ramids Ġ, Ġpal aces Ġ, Ġresidences Ġ, Ġadministrative Ġbuildings Ġ, Ġplatforms Ġand Ġinscribed Ġstone Ġmonuments Ġ. ĠThere Ġis Ġeven Ġa Ġbuilding Ġwhich Ġseemed Ġto Ġhave Ġbeen Ġa Ġjail Ġ, Ġoriginally Ġwith Ġwooden Ġbars Ġacross Ġthe Ġwindows Ġand Ġdoors Ġ. ĠThere Ġare Ġalso Ġseven Ġcourts Ġfor Ġplaying Ġthe ĠMes o amer ican Ġball game Ġ, Ġincluding Ġa Ġset Ġof Ġ3 Ġin Ġthe ĠSeven ĠTem ples ĠPlaza Ġ, Ġa Ġunique Ġfeature Ġin ĠMes o amer ica Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġlimestone Ġused Ġfor Ġconstruction Ġwas Ġlocal Ġand Ġquar ried Ġon Ġ@ - @ Ġsite Ġ. ĠThe Ġdepress ions Ġformed Ġby Ġthe Ġextraction Ġof Ġstone Ġfor Ġbuilding Ġwere Ġpl astered Ġto Ġwaterproof Ġthem Ġand Ġwere Ġused Ġas Ġreservoirs Ġ, Ġtogether Ġwith Ġsome Ġwaterproof ed Ġnatural Ġdepress ions Ġ. ĠThe Ġmain Ġpl az as Ġwere Ġsurfaced Ġwith Ġst ucc o Ġand Ġlaid Ġat Ġa Ġgradient Ġthat Ġch ann elled Ġrainfall Ġinto Ġa Ġsystem Ġof Ġcan als Ġthat Ġfed Ġthe Ġreservoirs Ġ. Ġ Ġ ĠThe Ġresidential Ġarea Ġof ĠTik al Ġcovers Ġan Ġestimated Ġ60 Ġsquare Ġkilometres Ġ( Ġ23 Ġsq Ġmi Ġ) Ġ, Ġmuch Ġof Ġwhich Ġhas Ġnot Ġyet Ġbeen Ġcleared Ġ, Ġmapped Ġ, Ġor Ġexcav ated Ġ. ĠA Ġhuge Ġset Ġof Ġearth works Ġdiscovered Ġby ĠDennis ĠE . ĠPul eston Ġand ĠDonald ĠCall ender Ġin Ġthe Ġ1960 s Ġrings ĠTik al Ġwith Ġa Ġ6 Ġ@ - @ Ġmetre Ġ( Ġ20 Ġft Ġ) Ġwide Ġtrench Ġbehind Ġa Ġramp art Ġ. ĠThe Ġ16 Ġsquare Ġkilometres Ġ( Ġ6 Ġ@ . @ Ġ2 Ġsq Ġmi Ġ) Ġarea Ġaround Ġthe Ġsite Ġcore Ġhas Ġbeen Ġintensive ly Ġmapped Ġ; Ġit Ġmay Ġhave Ġenclosed Ġan Ġarea Ġof Ġsome Ġ125 Ġsquare Ġkilometres Ġ( Ġ48 Ġsq Ġmi Ġ) Ġ( Ġsee Ġbelow Ġ) Ġ. ĠPopulation Ġestimates Ġplace Ġthe Ġdemographic Ġsize Ġof Ġthe Ġsite Ġbetween Ġ10 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġand Ġ90 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġ, Ġand Ġpossibly Ġ425 Ġ@ , @ Ġ000 Ġin Ġthe Ġsurrounding Ġarea Ġ. ĠRecently Ġ, Ġa Ġproject Ġexploring Ġthe Ġdefensive Ġearth works Ġhas Ġshown Ġthat Ġthe Ġscale Ġof Ġthe Ġearth works Ġis Ġhighly Ġvariable Ġand Ġthat Ġin Ġmany Ġplaces Ġit Ġis Ġinc onsequ ential Ġas Ġa Ġdefensive Ġfeature Ġ. ĠIn Ġaddition Ġ, Ġsome Ġparts Ġof Ġthe Ġearth work Ġwere Ġintegrated Ġinto Ġa Ġcanal Ġsystem Ġ. ĠThe Ġearth work Ġof ĠTik al Ġvaries Ġsignificantly Ġin Ġcoverage Ġfrom Ġwhat Ġwas Ġoriginally Ġproposed Ġand Ġit Ġis Ġmuch Ġmore Ġcomplex Ġand Ġmultif acet ed Ġthan Ġoriginally Ġthought Ġ. Ġ Ġ Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= ĠCause ways Ġ= Ġ= Ġ= Ġ Ġ ĠBy Ġthe ĠLate ĠClassic Ġ, Ġa Ġnetwork Ġof Ġsac be ob Ġ( Ġcause ways Ġ) Ġlinked Ġvarious Ġparts Ġof Ġthe Ġcity Ġ, Ġrunning Ġfor Ġseveral Ġkilometres Ġthrough Ġits Ġurban Ġcore Ġ. ĠThese Ġlinked Ġthe ĠGreat ĠPlaza Ġwith ĠTemple Ġ4 Ġ( Ġlocated Ġabout Ġ750 Ġmetres Ġ( Ġ2 Ġ@ , @ Ġ460 Ġft Ġ) Ġto Ġthe Ġwest Ġ) Ġand Ġthe ĠTemple Ġof Ġthe ĠIn script ions Ġ( Ġabout Ġ1 Ġkilomet re Ġ( Ġ0 Ġ@ . @ Ġ62 Ġmi Ġ) Ġto Ġthe Ġsoutheast Ġ) Ġ. ĠThese Ġbroad Ġcause ways Ġwere Ġbuilt Ġof Ġpacked Ġand Ġpl astered Ġlimestone Ġand Ġhave Ġbeen Ġnamed Ġafter Ġearly Ġexplorers Ġand Ġarchaeologists Ġ; Ġthe ĠMal