14 



COPAN. 



View of the pkincipal geoup of ruined structubes from the North-west. 



General Description op Site. 



The name " Copan " properly applies to the district or province in which the ruins 

 are found, but it is more frequently used to designate the small modern village which 

 has been built amidst the remains of the ancient Indian structures. 



This village is situated just within the western boundary of the Republic of Honduras 

 (lat. 14° 50' 30" N.), on the right bank of the Copan river, a stream which rises to the 

 north-east of the ruins, and, after flowing for about thirty miles in a westerly direction, 

 turns to the north and joins the llio Motagua in the neighbourhood of Zacapa. The 

 Motagua then continues its course in an east-north-easterly direction to the Gulf of 

 Honduras, passing close to the group of ruins at Quirigua. 



