Are these ancient ruins in Honduras the legendary 'White City'?
By Mindy Weisberger about 6 hours ago
Filmmakers documented the expedition to a remote part of the Honduran rainforest in La Mosquitia.
The so-called lost city in La Mosquitia as it may have appeared around 4,000 years ago. (Image credit: Courtesy of Science Channel)
Deep in the northeastern Honduran rainforest, according to local lore, hides an ancient metropolis known as "La Ciudad Blanca," or "The White City." Its name alludes to imposing pillars of white stone that were allegedly glimpsed by Spanish colonizers and, later, Western explorers; the city is rumored to have been dedicated to a monkey god worshipped by a pre-Columbian civilization.
For nearly a century, explorers have searched for the White City in vain. But in 2015, a team of scientists that traveled deep into the jungle in Honduras' La Mosquitia region found ruins that could be those of the fabled city.
Filmmakers captured the grueling journey in the documentary "Lost City of the Monkey God," which airs Oct. 31 on the Science Channel. Using clues that had been gathered by previous expeditions as well as by ground-surveying satellites and laser scans, they uncovered structures and artifacts that had been swallowed by the jungle, revealing secrets of an ancient Indigenous culture that could be over 1,000 years old.
The La Mosquitia region spans over 1,350 square miles (3,500 square kilometers) and is one of the most pristine lowland rainforest areas in Central America, supporting Honduras' biggest biodiversity hotspots, according to Conservation International.
More:
https://www.livescience.com/white-city-monkey-god