Nearly 3,000-year-old Mayan city with ‘remarkable’ architecture unearthed in Guatemala
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Newly discovered ancient city sheds light on Mayan civilisation
- Archaeologists in Guatemala have discovered the ruins of a 3,000-year-old Mayan city, named "Los Abuelos", featuring pyramids and monuments.
- The city, located 21km from Uaxactun, is believed to be one of the most ancient and important ceremonial centres of the Maya civilisation, showcasing remarkable architectural planning.
- Monuments at the site date back to 800-500 BC and feature unique iconography, with some figures potentially linked to ancient ritual practices of ancestor worship from 500-300 BC.
- Nearby archaeological sites, Petnal and Cambrayal, feature a 33m-high pyramid with pre-classical Maya murals and a unique canal system with advanced hydraulic infrastructure, respectively.
- The discoveries, excavated as part of Guatemala’s Uaxactún Regional Archaeological Project, reveal a previously unknown urban triangle.