Temanpua

Tenampua is an archaeological site belonging to the Lenca culture dating from the early Mesoamerican classical period, located in central Honduras in the Comayagua valley. It is known for having the interesting characteristic of having several mounds of between 6 and 15 meters and a fortress inside, in addition to being a place located in a mountainous area with difficult access. The area is also characterized by being full of pine trees and a cool climate hovering between 15 and 21 degrees Celsius in temperature and strong gusts of wind.
Site description.
Located in the middle of a pine forest characteristic of central Honduras, 57 km from Tegucigalpa to the south of the municipality of the town of San Antonio, whose plateau is made up of sloping slopes that are difficult to access and 866 meters above the sea. . From this space you can see part of the Comayagua valley, La Paz and the mountainous surroundings that adjoin the Francisco Morazán department, for this reason the Lenca decided to build the pre-Columbian fortification there. The 21-hectare area that comprises the archaeological site is made up of several mounds, platforms, and a fortress with walls of between two and four meters and whose base ranges from three to seven meters in which inside it houses stepped pyramidal structures of between 6 m and 12 m. In the area there are also some bleachers, mounds that were once a characteristic ball court of Mesoamerican cultures, areas with rock engravings and rock art in nearby caves located in the same area. The site was the victim of constant looting for several decades, which meant that a good part of the infrastructure is currently deteriorated or incomplete due to the looting of some residents of the area, so it was registered as cultural heritage until 1997, it is currently protected by guards.
History.
From the very little that is known about this site is that it was built by the indigenous Lencas with the purpose of being a small ceremonial center and refuge during the Mesoamerican early classical period. It is not well known why it was abandoned or because the Lencas stopped using it as a refuge and a military fort during the constant wars they had during different manors. The best explanation given by Honduran archaeologists would be that several villages that were located near the archaeological site were little by little abandoned by the inhabitants to settle more in lower areas mainly in the valley.
During the 19th century it was visited by the American explorer and archaeologist Ephraim George Squier in 1853, who sent reports and letters about the ruins to the New York community of historians. According to Squier's testimonies, the ruins astonished him not only because of their size but also because of the location in which they were built, as it was a feat of engineering to bring the rocks to the mountainous terrain where they are found. Some time later, the area encompassed by the archaeological site was also a victim of the Honduran civil war of 1924 which managed to significantly damage the structures, which is why in some areas of it bullet caps and parts of bones of soldiers from the national army a few years after the war. At the moment it can be accessible to the public although it is quite difficult to access it as it is located in a mountainous and wooded area considerably away from inhabited areas, although there are guides who are in charge of taking people to the ruins.
Findings.
Several researchers have found various types of ceramics with exquisite engravings and decorations, obsidian arrowheads, and jade carvings, have been found in the area, also statuettes representing some deities of the Lenca people such as "Itanipuca", "Ilanguipuca," and "Icelaca". Currently exhibited in museums in Comayagua. Another finding are supposed temples near the area according to some North American researchers, although due to deterioration they are currently already collapsed or reduced to rubble covered by vegetation.