Archaeologists discovered an ancient Mayan city with a population of 40,000 that would have collapsed about 1,000 years ago, Reuters reported.
Ivan Sprajc, an associate professor at the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts, led the team into a rain forest in eastern Mexico. The discovery could give the team clues as to how the civilization collapsed.
"It is one of the largest sites in the Central Lowlands, comparable in its extent and the magnitude of its buildings with Becan, Nadzcaan and El Palmar in Campeche," Sprajc said in a statement.
Sprajc and his team discovered 15 pyramids, one standing 75 feet tall, ball courts, plazas and sculpted stone shafts. They named the city "Chactun," meaning "Red Rock" or "Large Rock." Chactun's population was most likely just under that of the large ancient city of Tikal, discovered in Guatemala.
Sprajc said the Mayan civilization reached its height between 600 and 900 A.D. and that Chactun would have also experienced prosperity at this time.
Click here for photos of the team's discovery of Chactun.
The team found evidence to suggest they were not the first to have discovered the site, but Sprajc said they were the first to say anything about it.
"Lumberjacks and gum extractors were certainly already there, because we saw cuts on the trees," Sprajc said. "What happened is they never told anyone."
The 54-acre site was located in the middle of the jungle with the closest modern civilization being a small town known as Xpujil, 16 miles away.
The ruins were spotted in aerial photographs taken 15 years ago by the National Commission for the Knowledge and Use of Biodiversity. Sprajc had been studying the shots to monitor the nature preserve when he saw signs of ruins.
"With aerial photographs examined stereoscopically, we found many features that were obviously architectural remains," he said. "From there we took the coordinates and the next step was to locate the ancient alleys used by tappers and loggers to reach the area."
