- cross-posted to:
- news@lemmy.world
- cross-posted to:
- news@lemmy.world
A huge Mayan 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 found the hidden complex - which they have called Valeriana - using Lidar, a type of radar survey that maps structures buried under vegetation.
They believe it is second in size only to Calakmul, thought to be the largest Mayan site in ancient Latin America.
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Wow I found it totally on accident while processing lidar images with my software specifically designed to detect hidden cities in lidar images!
Surprising maybe. Accidental? Ehhhh
“It seems the cat-burgular was caught by the very person who was trying to catch him! How ironic!”
Dontcha think?
That’s crazy. Last time I accidentally discovered a Mayan city it was just Chickenitza in Tijuana.
Meh, I’ve heard crazier coinkiedinks
i can’t recommend the novel “The Vivero Letter” by Desmond Bagley enough when it comes to the subject of lost mayan cities.
as with his other novels, the research that he showcases in his narrative is nothing short of impressive – especially considering that he was active at a time without the internet.
it’s definitely one of his better books.
Interesting. Sounds like it’s a bit inspired by the legend of La Ciudad Blanca.
in many ways, yes evidently. but there’s something additional at the end of this story which transcends those legends.
but thanks for the link. live and learn!
Mr Auld-Thomas and his colleagues named the city Valeriana after a nearby lagoon.
…
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.
This archeologist just discovered a Maya city, and they decided to call it “Valeriana” (in the language of the conquistadors) insted of something like “Xpujil” (in the language of the people who still live there.)
They’re not thinking big enough. They should call it “openai.com” and go for corporate sponsorship!
People aren’t generally aware, but the Yúcatan was densely populated during the Mayan classic period (approx. 250-900 CE). Last I read, the estimate was around 20 million people, but that was years ago, so I’m sure it’s gone way up with all the new Lidar surveys.
The population of vastly larger Europe in 1000 CE was less than twice that.
We don’t know for sure why their society collapsed, but the going theory is significant climate change, so there’s something to look forward to.
Also, this caption made me laugh:
There are no pictures of the city but it had pyramid temples similar to this one in nearby Calakmul
And the picture would look similar to that pyramid except all trees. Which is why they only saw it on a Lidar survey. Duh.
Very timely discovery indeed. Personally, I just finished episode 1 of the series: American Historia: The Untold History of Latinos
Created by John Leguizamo
Highly recommend
I just finished watching Ancient Apocalypse: The Americas, and they found some structures using LiDAR in that show! Very cool stuff.
I would highly recommend you check it out and I will have to watch American Historia
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