The Museums of Campeche: Highlights of the Peninsula's History and Archaeology

The city of Campeche brings together remarkable museums of archaeology, art and history. Among them stand the Underwater Archaeology Museum at Fuerte de San José; the Mayan Architecture Museum at Baluarte de la Soledad, where the Calakmul jade mask is displayed; the Archaeological Museum at Fuerte de San Miguel; the City Museum at Baluarte de San Carlos; and El Palacio, the museum of fortifications, trade and navigation.

City Museum — Baluarte de San Carlos

This museum holds the city's title, granted in 1777 by King Charles III of Spain. The bastion — the first of the fortified system, used as a watch barracks — exhibits objects from the colonial era, such as cannons and armor. Plans, weapons, furniture and paintings complete the account of the city and its changes through history. The keys to the city are also kept here.

El Palacio — fortifications, trade and navigation

Besides housing the Campeche Library, this central building offers a tour through the defense systems built against the constant looting by pirates and privateers. It shows how the foundations of the local economy were forged and, most fascinating of all, recreates the world of navigation of the time, with replicas of ships, shipyards, historical routes and the life of sailors.

Underwater Archaeology Museum — Fuerte de San José el Alto

Built to defend the city from the English and besieged by the French, this fort exhibits a wonderful collection of objects found in the waters of the Mexican Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. Here you understand how underwater cultural heritage is studied and preserved; prehistoric fauna is recreated, and pieces from the world of Mayan navigation are shown. The visit closes with a viceregal collection — precious stones, gold jewelry and silver coins — recovered in 2014 from the ship Ancla Macuca.

Mayan Architecture Museum — Baluarte de la Soledad

This museum gathers pieces of Mayan architecture and sculpture from the styles that prevailed across the state's archaeological sites. Here you find the famous Calakmul mask, part of the funerary trousseau from Structure VII of the Great Plaza. The exhibition highlights the explanation of Mayan glyphs and the translation of texts in stone, metal and wood from the Classic Period.