Becán means "Ravine formed by water" in Mayan, an apt name, indeed, since it is one of the few pre-columbian sites where we can still see a defensive ditch and wall.
The core area of Becán is ringed by a moat which averages 48 feet in width and seven feet in depth. Behind the moat there are the remains of a wall, in some places almost 11 feet high. The system has a half-moon shape and a length of 1,900 yards, protecting the main buildings of this ancient city. This core area sprawls over some 63 acres, although the whole extends out much further and links with such other pre-spanish sites as Chicaná, one mile away, and Xpuhil, four miles away.

The town had seven gateways: three to the north , one to the west, one to the south, and two to the east. Of these two latter entrances, the southern-most one is used to go into the walled area. All gates are approached over causeways (in Mayan sacbé) from 37 to 55 feet long and from 7 to 12 feet wide.
The site's highest, most massive buildings lie inside its core area. For example, Structure IX is almost 100 feet high. Outside the defensive wall are a large number of smaller constructions wich served as dweelings, silos, shrines, agricultural terraces, and so forth for the subjects of Becán, who maintained the ruling dynasties. From the architectural standpoint, we find a combination of two styles: Río Bec and Chenes. The Bec River style features the use of twin towers with thatched temples on top, while the chenes style is characterized by its profuse decoration of facades with fantastic stone masks.
Becán has yielded traces of human occupation from as early as 600 B.C. However, it did not reach its peak until between 600 and 1000 A.D., after wich the population slowly declined until about 1450, when it was deserted.
The city extracted goods and services from a number of surrounding towns between the seventh and eleventh centuries. Strategically located in the south central parth of the peninsula, it also became the natural capital of that region due to its proximity to the rivers and lakes in southwest Campeche, as well as to the Mayan cities around the Bay of Chetumal on the Caribbean coast.

General information:

Visiting days: Monday trhough Sunday
Visiting hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Services: Watchmen

Source: INAH