A lost city belonging to the ancient Maya civilisation has been found in the Mexican jungle.
Archaeologists have discovered many large pyramids up to 15 metres high in an area less than half a mile wide.
The site in the jungles of the Yucatan Peninsula, in the Mexican state of Campeche, dates back to around AD 250 to 1000 and it has been named Ocomtun meaning “stone column” in the Mayan language.
A team of archaeologists was mapping the Maya lowlands using lasers from aircraft when they came across the pyramids.
Lasers are a non-invasive way that can be used by researchers to investigate human-made buildings which can be hidden away deeply in vegetation.
"The site served as an important centre at the regional level probably during the Classic period (AD250-1000). The ceramics that we found on the surface and in some test pits are from the Late Classic period (AD 600-800)," lead archaeologist Ivan Ṡprajc, a department head at the Institute of Anthropological and Spatial Studies in Slovenia, said in the statement.
“The biggest surprise is that the site is on a ‘peninsula’ of elevated land surrounded by extensive wetlands. The area covers more than 50 hectares and there are a lot of large structures including pyramids more than 15 metres high.”
The researchers believe that some of the buildings were for markets and community rituals.
Mr Ṡprajc emphasised the three squares which are in the south east of the area which have imposing buildings that are surrounded by patios.
He added: "Between the two biggest squares there are different low and long structures which are almost in concentric circles, and there is also a place for ball games."
The Maya had numerous city sites scattered across southern Mexico and Central America with the civilization reaching its peak during the first 1000 years AD until it collapsed between 800 and 1000.
But the Maya continue to exist and there are more than seven million still living in Central America.
The Maya didn't have one central leader, such as an emperor in ancient Rome, and were not unified under a single state but instead the civilisation was made up of many small states which were structured around a specific city.
