Discovering Ocomtun

from Reuters

Ancient Maya city discovered in Mexican jungle Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) discover an ancient Mayan city in the Balamku ecological reserve© Thomson Reuters

MEXICO CITY, June 20 (Reuters) – A previously unknown ancient Maya city has been discovered in the jungles of southern Mexico, the country’s anthropology institute said on Tuesday, adding it was likely an important center more than a thousand years ago.

The city includes large pyramid-like buildings, stone columns, three plazas with “imposing buildings” and other structures arranged in almost-concentric circles, the INAH institute said.

INAH said the city, which it has named Ocomtun – meaning “stone column” in the Yucatec Maya language – would have been an important center for the peninsula’s central lowland region between 250 and 1000 AD.

It is located in the Balamku ecological reserve on the country’s Yucatan Peninsula and was discovered during a search of a largely unexplored stretch of jungle larger than Luxembourg. The search took place between March and June using aerial laser mapping (LiDAR) technology.

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