The Tulum site was "discovered" in 1843 by John Lloyd Stephens and Frederick Catherwood in 1843, and this sketch was drawn by Frederick Catherwood a year later.
When Amira and I visited, you could pay extra to use the beach and site after closing, and we were the only ones visiting. The security guard, who's job is to keep people off the ruins, insisted that I sit on the ruins for a photo. So I pretended to use my laptop for the picture.