 During the late 1990s, much of the monumental architecture in San Estevan's core was bulldozed and a large crater excavated for the underlying limestone marl in order to construct modern roads.Mound XV, at 15 m, is the highest structure remaining at the site and dates to the Late Formative period.This mound was only saved from the bulldozers due to the intervention of the Belize Department of Archaeology in the late 1990s.