Ford and her team have excavated many of the plazas, temples and palaces of the monumental civic area. Surrounding the monuments is the residence that made up the ancient Maya community. Tzunu’un, a residential unit discovered, mapped and tested in 1984, became the focus of a major investigation that excavated, exposed, and consolidated an elite Maya house. This is the only archaeological house that the public has access to today. Working with Master Maya forest gardeners, the team has developed a forest garden around the house site. The forest gardens of El Pilar are now maintained by the Maya farmers as part of the El Pilar Forest Garden Network.
