archeology
Mayan settlement discovered in the Mexican jungle
The outline of the newly discovered Mayan settlement. photo
© Ivan Sprajc/INAH/dpa
Pyramids, a rectangular acropolis and a field for the traditional ball game “Juego de Pelota”: researchers have made an exciting discovery in the Mexican jungle.
In the Mexican rainforest, researchers have discovered a Mayan settlement with pyramids and numerous cylindrical columns. The site called Ocomtún (stone pillar) in the south of the Yucatán Peninsula may have been an important regional center at least 1,200 years ago, according to the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH). The ceramic types found there most frequently date from the years 600 to 800 AD. The finds are still being examined.
During an exploration tour, the research team led by the Slovenian expert Ivan Ṡprajc searched an area in the ecological reserve of Balamkú in the state of Campeche for the remains of the ruined city, as the institute announced. The area was previously identified using laser scanning (LiDAR) by scientists at the University of Houston. Balamkú is close to the major Mayan site of Calakmul.
According to Ṡprajc, the biggest surprise for the team was the discovery of a town center with large buildings, including several 15-metre-high pyramids. The area is located on a kind of high-altitude peninsula between wetlands and extends over more than 50 hectares.
The largest building at the site was found at a spot to the north-east of the town centre. It was a rectangular acropolis with a side length of 80 meters, a height of about 10 meters and a pyramid 25 meters high. Three courts with structures and a field for the traditional ball game “Juego de Pelota” were also found on the Ocomtún site.