Woman sparks fury for climbing ‘off-limit’ ancient Mayan temple

The woman who climbed the steps of an ancient Mayan temple, enraging a crowd, and going viral online, has been identified by a local news outlet as Abigail Villalobos (pictured), 29, of Mexico. The Tinum municipal police department would not confirm or deny the woman’s identity to DailyMail.com. The woman, identified as Villalobos by Noticias ZMG and Imagen TV, shocked visitors by walking up the steps of Castillo – or Pyramid of Kukulcán – in the Yucatán city of Tinum.

Villalobos then walked through one of the Chichen Itza temple’s four terraces at the front of the steps and walks back out while an enraged group of people shouted obscenities at her from down below as a security guard trekked up the pyramid to get her to walk down. She has since been dubbed by locals as ‘Lady Chichen Itza.’

As she descended the 91 steps, Villalobos danced upon one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, and appeared to pose for photos and was met by an angry crowd with some chanting: ‘Jail, jail, jail’ and ‘lock her up.’ Villalobos was then escorted by a guard while several of her companions trailed behind her before some of the upset visitors blocked her path. An elderly woman briefly stopped Villalobos and pulled her hair and while other tourists dosed her with water.

Villalobos was taken to the Tinum municipal police station and held for half an hour but was released after paying a fine of 5,000 pesos — about $257. The pyramid was built between the 8th and 12th centuries AD and served as the temple of the Kukulcan god. The ancient ruin’s substructure is said to have been built a couple of centuries earlier for the same purpose. The Mesoamerican pyramid is 79 feet high and an additional 20 feet for the temple at the top.

Each of the temple’s four sides feature 91 steps. The National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) issued a statement a few hours after the video was posted on social media, noting that the monument had not been damaged. 

Ascending the 82-ft pyramid at the Chichen Itza archaeological site – formerly one of the most important centers of the Mayan civilization – has been prohibited since 2008. Fines for climbing the temple can range from $2569 to $5138, depending on the damage caused to the structure. Justin Bieber was kicked out of an archaeological site in Tulum Mexico for ‘pulling his underpants down and trying to climb one of its off-limits ruins’ in 2016. Police were also called to the incident, after he stripped down for a selfie and then shouted abuse at security guards who tried to stop him.

He was filmed arriving at the site with his then-new girlfriend Hailey Baldwin, who the pop star is now married to. Staff say he was clearly under the influence of alcohol and had been initially refused entry because he was carrying beer cans, said local reports. Article 47 of the Federal law on Archaeological, Artistic and Historic Monuments states that a punishment of one to ten years in prison can be handed out if a person is found liable. In January 2021 incident, a woman scaled the Pyramid of Kukulcán and sparked outrage when she was caught scattering the ashes of her late husband.

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