Gigantic Mayan city discovered: Valeriana reveals ancient secrets!

Gigantic Mayan city discovered: Valeriana reveals ancient secrets!

In the dense jungle of Mexico, researchers have discovered a massive Mayan city that could revolutionize the view of classical Mayan culture! An incredible 6,764 previously unknown structures have been identified among the lush vegetation in the southeastern state of Campeche. This groundbreaking discovery was made by scientists at Tulane University in Louisiana and published in the prestigious journal Antiquity. A true sensation!

The researchers focused on three areas near Calakmul, one of the most important Mayan sites on the Yucatán Peninsula. While two of the areas examined were sparsely populated, the scientists came across a once-thriving city that they named “Valeriana” – named after a nearby freshwater lagoon. An impressive urban center with monumental buildings was revealed on an area of ​​16.6 square kilometers!

A political capital of the Mayan culture

Laser survey (LiDAR) analysis revealed that Valeriana was once a major political capital of the Classic Maya culture, which flourished between 200 and 950 AD. Two monumental architectural centers, only two kilometers apart, were discovered and were connected by a continuously populated area. The city had a wide connecting road, an amphitheater and even a water reservoir - a true masterpiece of engineering!

The Classic Maya culture, which developed in the first centuries AD in what is now Mexico, Guatemala, Belize, Honduras and El Salvador, fascinated the world with its complex script, precise calendars and astronomical knowledge. But the mysteries surrounding the sudden decline of their cities in the 8th and 9th centuries remain unsolved to this day. This discovery could be crucial to unlocking the mysteries of the Maya!