Palenque is a Mexican city and municipality located in the north of the state of Chiapas. The city was named almost 200 years before the nearby Mayan ruins were discovered in the 18th century. The city is the only urban area in a municipality of over 600 communities and is surrounded by rainforest. The Palenque archeological site is one of the most important tourist attractions for the area and the state of Chiapas. Also anciently known as Lakamha ("Big Water"), Palenque was a Maya city-state in southern Mexico that flourished in the 7th century. The Palenque ruins date from ca. 226 BC to ca. 799 AD. After its decline, it was overgrown by the jungle but has since been excavated and restored. Palenque is a medium-sized site, smaller than Tikal, Chichen Itza, or Copán, but it contains some of the finest architecture, sculpture, roof comb, and bas-relief carvings that the Mayas produced.