Researcher accidentally uncovers lost Maya city

A massive Maya city, long hidden under Mexico’s dense jungle canopy, has been discovered in Campeche state. 

Archaeologists found pyramids, plazas, causeways, and sports courts within the complex, which they’ve named Valeriana. 

The city, mapped using Lidar (a laser survey technology), is thought to be second in density only to the Maya site of Calakmul.

The discovery, made by accident, happened when Tulane University PhD student Luke Auld-Thomas stumbled upon a laser survey conducted by a Mexican organisation. 

"I was on page 16 of Google search results when I found it," he shared. After processing the data, Auld-Thomas identified what others had missed: an ancient city that likely housed 30,000–50,000 people at its peak between 750 and 850 AD—more than the current regional population.

Valeriana, named after a nearby lagoon, spans 16.6 square kilometers and includes temple pyramids, plazas, an ancient ball game court, and reservoirs indicating the city’s ability to sustain a large population. 

“Valeriana has the hallmarks of a capital city,” Auld-Thomas noted. The site, hidden just a 15-minute hike from a major road near Xpujil, had gone unnoticed for centuries, though locals suspected ruins under the overgrown landscape.

This discovery challenges old ideas about the Tropics as inhospitable to civilization. "The Maya thrived in complex cities," said Professor Marcello Canuto, co-author of the study, noting how the dense population struggled as drought conditions worsened around 800 AD, contributing to the Maya civilization’s collapse. 

Warfare and later Spanish conquest in the 16th century further decimated the city-states.

Lidar technology has revolutionized archaeology, allowing researchers to map vast regions of the Mesoamerican Tropics at a rate previously unimaginable.

“Lidar has mapped nearly ten times the area that was achieved in a century of traditional surveys,” Canuto explained. 

Yet the sheer number of new sites presents a challenge: "There are more Maya cities than we can hope to excavate," Auld-Thomas remarked, noting that while he hopes to visit Valeriana, resources may limit further study.

Source: BBC