UCSB Studies Ancient Maya City

The nearly six-year-old agreement between UCSB and the Central American country of Belize to protect and research the ancient Maya city of El Pilar was officially renewed during a ceremony on Monday. Joining UCSB archaeologist Anabel Ford—who began working in the region in the 1970s, first mapped El Pilar in 1983, and began collaborating with both Belize and Guatemala about the site in 1993—were Belizean dignitaries Diane Haylock (president of the country’s National Institute of Culture and History) and George Thompson (director of the Belize Institute of Archaeology).