Researchers shot billions of lasers into Mexico jungle -- then found lost Mayan city
BY BRENDAN RASCIUS
JULY 20, 2023 2:50 PM
While flying over a remote stretch of jungle in Mexico, a small plane shot thousands of lasers per second into the foliage below. When the beams reached the forest floor, they bounced back to the aircraft, providing — based on time elapsed — an exact distance between the plane and the ground. After 12 hours of flying over the Yucatan Peninsula, researchers at the University of Houston compiled their measurements to create a three-dimensional map of the jungle, according to a July 17 university news release.
Their high-tech map revealed something strikingly low-tech: the ruins of a centuries-old Mayan city. “When we see it on the computer we think, ‘Wow!’ We are seeing these things for the first time in 1,000 years,” Juan Carlos Fernandez-Diaz, a research assistant professor, said in the release. “It’s like time travel to see under the vegetation, to the roads, canals and ponds as they were that long ago,” Fernandez-Diaz said.
Multiple pyramid-like structures, measuring around 50 feet in height, and other “hidden gems,” such as a sports field, were also visible on the 3D map. Upon making their discovery, researchers handed over their findings to archaeologists affiliated with Mexico’s National Institute for Anthropology and History (INAH). Slovenian archaeologist Ivan Šprajc led the ground exploration of the city, which is believed to be around 1,000 years old. It was named Ocomtún, which means stone column in Mayan, according to a July 7 news release from INAH.
Read more at: https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/nation-world/world/article277509798.html
