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There are no images of the city, but it featured pyramid temples similar to those found in the nearby Calakmul.
A massive Mayan city has been uncovered centuries after disappearing beneath the jungle canopy in Mexico.
Archaeologists stumbled upon pyramids, sports fields, causeways connecting different districts, and amphitheatres in the southeastern state of Campeche.
Using Lidar, a radar survey method that maps structures hidden under vegetation, they discovered the hidden complex, now named Valeriana.
They believe Valeriana is the second largest Mayan site in ancient Latin America, only behind Calakmul.
The city, roughly the size of Edinburgh, was accidentally found by archaeologist Luke Auld-Thomas while browsing data online.
The discovery challenges the notion that the Tropics were where civilizations went to die, highlighting the rich and complex cultures that once thrived in the region.
The researchers speculate that climate change played a significant role in the city’s demise and abandonment.
The ruins were located in Campeche, Mexico.
Valeriana is described as having the characteristics of a capital city, second only to the grand Calakmul site.
The city, covering about 16.6 sq km, boasted temples, hidden treasures, and evidence of a ball game court.
In total, the researchers surveyed three sites in the jungle, uncovering numerous buildings of various sizes.
The findings support the idea that Mayans lived in complex cities or towns rather than isolated villages.
The research suggests that the collapse of Mayan civilizations was influenced by overpopulation and climate issues.
The conquest of the region by Spanish invaders in the 16th century also contributed to the downfall of Mayan city states.
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Evidence of the ruins was discovered using radar technology to map beneath the jungle canopy.
Numerous more cities could potentially be uncovered.
Lidar technology has transformed how archaeologists survey areas covered in vegetation, like the Tropics, revealing lost civilizations.
In the past, surveys were conducted manually, but Lidar has expedited the process significantly.
Mr Auld-Thomas’s work indicates that there are likely many undiscovered sites waiting to be explored.
However, the abundance of new Maya cities unearthed through Lidar poses a challenge as researchers cannot possibly excavate them all.
The findings have been published in the academic journal Antiquity.