Diane and Arlen Chase, UCF’s very own Indiana Jones team, are in the final round of a contest to have the site they have worked on for 30 years declared the best archaeology site in the world.
In partnership with Belize’s Institute of Archaeology, the Chases have excavated the Maya site at Caracol, Belize for most of their careers. They were among the first researchers to widely use LIDAR (laser) technology to explore ruins at Caracol through the jungle canopy. Their findings have changed our understating of how the ancient Maya lived in a culture that stretched from El Salvador in Central America to the Yucatan Peninsula.
Today you have the opportunity to help the Chases and Belize in the final round of the popularity contest. A winner will be crowned at midnight. The Chases work has already beat other famous sites including Pompeii in Italy, Sterkfontein in South Africa, Petra in Jordan, and the fabled city of Troy in Turkey.
The winner will be announced on Saturday Oct. 18, the day archeologists, anthropologists and dig-site enthusiasts everywhere celebrate International Archaeology Day.