the time, such as Structure 5D-91 to the south and the E-Group to the west of the plaza, and around the South Acropolis to the east of the plaza, extending into the East Patio. Around this time the fourth version of the E-Group was built, which included the three rooms on its east platform that front onto the Plaza of the Seven Temples. The central portion of the Plaza of the Seven Temples was not surfaced at this time, in fact the Plaza did not exist as a formal space but occupied an important open area lying between the South Acropolis to the east and the Lost World Complex to the west. Early Classic Plentiful Early Classic ceramic fragments indicate that in all likelihood major construction activity took place in the Plaza during the Early Classic, although this has not yet been directly identified archaeologically. Late Classic The second and final version of the Plaza of the Seven Temples has been dated to the Late Classic Period (approximately 600 to 900 AD). Structures 5D-90 and 5D-91, the westernmost and central buildings of the south range, were built at this time. Terminal Classic A large quantity of Terminal Classic remains have been found concentrated around Structure 5D-90, demonstrating that the Plaza of the Seven Temples was in use right up until the time the city was abandoned. The southern range was refurbished at this time. Modern history The plaza was investigated by Patrick Culbert of the University of Pennsylvania in 1963, concentrating on the plaza's stratigraphy and also clearing the palace on the southern side. Major excavations of the plaza started in January 1983 under Vilma Fialko, with the objective of consolidating the seven temples on the east side of the plaza, and palace structure 5D-92 on the southeast corner. In 2004 the Ministerio de Cultura y Deportes ("Ministry of Culture and Sports") of Guatemala and the Agencia Española de Cooperación Internacional ("Spanish Agency for International Cooperation") launched a joint project to investigate the plaza and restore its buildings. The project had fifty workers at its disposal and the programme of investigations began with stratigraphic excavations in 2004, followed by excavation of the southern range in 2005. In 2006 the seven temples themselves were excavated and the project excavated the triple ballcourt in 2007. Layout The main axis of the Plaza appears to originally have run north-south from the central ballcourt