Lost Maya city with temple pyramids and plazas discovered in Mexico

[Judi Lynn]

1. PhD student finds lost city in Mexico jungle by accident

2 days ago

Georgina Rannard
Science reporter

A huge Maya city has been discovered centuries after it disappeared under jungle canopy in Mexico.

Archaeologists found pyramids, sports fields, causeways connecting districts and amphitheatres in the southeastern state of Campeche.

They uncovered the hidden complex - which they have called Valeriana - using Lidar, a type of laser survey that maps structures buried under vegetation.

They believe it is second in density only to Calakmul, thought to be the largest Maya site in ancient Latin America.

The team discovered three sites in total, in a survey area the size of Scotland's capital Edinburgh, “by accident” when one archaeologist browsed data on the internet.



There are no pictures of the city but it had pyramid temples similar to this one in nearby Calakmul

. . .

It is “hidden in plain sight”, the archaeologists say, as it is just 15 minutes hike from a major road near Xpujil where mostly Maya people now live.

There are no known pictures of the lost city because “no-one has ever been there”, the researchers say, although local people may have suspected there were ruins under the mounds of earth.

More:
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/crmznzkly3go