Explorers uncover intact city that had been hidden in jungle for over 1,000 years

Explorers uncover intact city that had been hidden in jungle for over 1,000 years An international group of explorers recently discovered a city that has been left untouched for over 1,000 years and they have been talking about the challenges of that A team of explorers has unearthed a Mayan city that's remained untouched in the Mexican jungle for more than 1,000 years. The group, comprising Slovenian and Mexican explorers, was conducting research in the Calakmul Nature Reserve in Mexico when they made the remarkable discovery. Venturing through the jungle in the state of Campeche, the researchers uncovered the city, which has since been named Minanbe. It lay hidden beneath dense vegetation. Further examination of the city, which spans an area of 13 square hectares, has led researchers to believe it may have been built between 600 and 900 AD. The expedition was headed by archaeologist Ivan Sprajc, who is affiliated with the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Arts and Sciences. The survey was conducted following an assessment of LiDAR imagery by fellow archaeologists Atasta Flores Esquivel, Vitan Vujanović, Israel Chato López, and Quintín Hernández Gómez. It was these images that suggested something might be lurking beneath the thick jungle canopy. In addition to covering 13 square hectares, the city contains numerous structures, including a pyramid in the Rio Bec style standing 13 metres tall, and a relief depicting water features and a beheading. Regarding this, Mr Vujanović told Inah it was "the first time I have recorded a more or less well-preserved temple, and a stele that still bears glyphs". The project isn't the product of just one expedition, however, with the discovery marking the conclusion of a project devoted to exploring the Central Maya Lowlands. Throughout the project, one backed by the Archaeology Council of the National Institute of Anthropology and History, Mr Sprajc and his team explored the northern section of the reserve. This formed part of a surface survey of an area west of Chactun. To reach some of the most challenging and hazardous areas of the forest, the explorers relied heavily on machetes to hack through vegetation. They also utilised quad bikes during their exploration. Regarding this challenge, Mr Sprajc said the absence of any clear paths indicated they were onto something significant. Mr Sprajc explained: "Compared to other places where we carried out surface surveys, access here proved much more difficult. "However, in the last three years, this is the first site we've found that's intact; there are no signs of looting. It was a real discovery, a huge surprise for us. "That is why we chose the name Minanbé, which comes from Yucatec Maya (mina'an, 'there is none', and be, 'path'). In this way, we are following the tradition in Maya archaeology of naming certain sites after a characteristic of the place or in reference to the circumstances of the discovery." Mr Sprajc concluded that Minanbe is consistent with patterns he has observed in other discoveries across the region, having been adapted to serve an agriculturally-based power structure. Nevertheless, certain questions persist regarding whether incursions from outside groups may have altered the city's social dynamics.