The great Mayan city hidden in the Guatemalan jungle: an entire city to uncover

Until not long ago, in the jungle of Guatemala there was hidden a huge network of roads, homes, defensive walls and a new seven-story temple. They are the remains of a great city hidden under the thickness of the jungle Guatemalan and that even today, a year after their discovery, they continue to be studied.

This new discovery was made thanks to a technology that is revolutionizing archeology: LIDAR. It is a laser that takes hundreds of images from the air, by plane, and makes trees and forest vegetation invisible, creating a map of the constructions detected in the area.

Thousands of Mayan structures found hidden under the Guatemalan jungle https://t.co/quOl1UqWyi pic.twitter.com/ImmwvP77lb

— La Vanguardia (@LaVanguardia) February 2, 2018

Archaeologists and their new tool: lidar

Garrison told Live Science magazine that “we got to within about 150 feet of where the fortress is in 2010, but we didn't see anything.”

For scientists it is like a blessing that “fell from the sky” and that “is revolutionizing archeology, just as the Hubble Space Telescope did with astronomy in its day,” he stated. Francisco Estrada-Belli, archaeologist at Tulane University.

Another Mayan scholar, David Stuart, from the University of Texas, pointed out that LIDAR analyzes the study area with such precision that rectangular constructions such as roads, foundations, plazas or other structures simply jump out at you in this device.

What else could they discover?https://t.co/Jg2G6CTvW1

A high-tech scanner detected a huge Mayan city hidden in the jungle #Guatemala pic.twitter.com/9lwUln3aYu

— Milenio (@Milenio) February 2, 2018

What this discovery means for tourism

In addition to knowing even more about this civilization, we can already venture that it is not at all fanciful to think that there was a population of 10 to 15 million people, when until now it was around 5 million people.

And all this including many people who lived in swampy areas, which we consider almost uninhabitable. Without a doubt, the Mayans dominated nature like few civilizations have done.
Upon discovering this new city and its network of structures, the conception that was had of the Mayans changes radically and begins to be seen as a civilization even more impressive than previously thought, with a spectacular communication network, with interconnected roads through elevated roads, commerce being of vital importance to them in their daily lives.

The Mayan World is one step away from emerging with a unique tourist offer. Culture, history, legends and nature, ALL an ensemble that is about to “conquer” tourists eager to learn from one of the most exciting civilizations we have ever known.
Take a look at this itinerary that discovers many of the most emblematic places of the Mayans in Guatemala, the authentic heart of the Mayan world