News Archaeology

A huge, ancient Maya city has been found in southern Mexico

The find is helping researchers understand ancient urban densities in Mexico’s Maya Lowlands

An aerial view of the topographical landscape of Southern Mexico, shown in gray

Data from laser-mapping aircraft helped produce this topographical map of a part of Mexico’s Maya Lowlands, revealing evidence of ancient structures that may have once constituted a major urban center.

Luke Auld-Thomas

By Meghie Rodrigues

A massive Maya landscape has been hiding under a forested area of southern Mexico.

The newfound city, dubbed Valeriana, spans an area roughly the size of Beijing and has “all the hallmarks of a Classic Maya political capital,” researchers report in the October Antiquity.