Archaeologists are surprised to find an ancient Mayan city in the jungle

Tall pyramid-like structures found

Archaeologists in Mexico have discovered the remains of an ancient Mayan city deep in the jungles of the Yucatan Peninsula. Scientists have discovered several pyramid-like structures over 15 meters high.

The ancient city has been discovered in the jungles of southern Mexico, the Mexican Institute of Anthropology reported recently. Believed to have been an important center thousands of years ago, this city includes large pyramid-like buildings, stone pillars, three squares with imposing towers, and other structures arranged in almost concentric circles.

Pottery found at the site seems to indicate that it was inhabited between AD 600 and 800, during a period known as the Late Classic.

According to the BBC, archaeologists have named the site Okomtun (Mayan for “stone pillar”).

The Maya are believed to have been one of the greatest civilizations in the Western Hemisphere, famous for their pyramidal temples and majestic stone buildings in what is now southern Mexico, Guatemala and Belize.

These latest finds were made in an ecological reserve in the state of Campeche, an area so densely overgrown with vegetation that it has been little explored.

The National Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico (INAH) said its discovery was the result of fieldwork aimed at documenting the archeology of the Central Maya Lowlands, an area that covers 3,000 square kilometers of uninhabited jungle.

According to the Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico, an aerial laser scan conducted by the University of Houston helped the research team locate “many clusters of pre-Hispanic structures.”

Ivan Spryts, who led the team of experts, said that they were most surprised by the discovery of a hill surrounded by wetlands.

In this elevated area, scientists have found several large buildings, including several pyramidal ones over 15 meters high.

“The site served as an important regional center,” Ivann Spreitz said in a statement released by Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History.

The cylindrical stone pillars that prompted the researchers to name the site Okomtun likely served as entrances to rooms at the top of the buildings, he added.

According to the expert, the site probably underwent significant changes between 800 and 1000 AD before falling victim to the collapse of the Plains Maya civilization in the 10th century.