Found in Mexican jungle, lost palace of Mayan kings
ITS remains have lain hidden in an ancient city in the Mexican jungle for at least 1,000 years.
But now archaeologists have discovered a Mayan palace and are studying it for clues about the vanished civilisation.
The remains of the structure – 180ft long, 50ft wide and 20ft high – were found during restoration work at Kuluba, near the tourist resort of Cancun.
The Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History said the palace was inhabited for two long periods between 600 and 1050 AD, at the peak of Mayan civilisation. It was found in the Kuluba archaeological zone, a key ancient site in Mexico’s eastern Yucatan state.
The Mayans ruled large swathes of what is now southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and Honduras between 250 and 900 AD but the civilisation came to a crushing end with Spanish colonisation.
As well as the former palace, archaeologists are exploring four structures in Kuluba’s central square – an altar, remnants of two residential buildings and a round structure thought to be an oven.
They hope to open the site to the public and conservationists.
Archaeologist Alfredo Barrera said: ‘This work is the beginning. We’ve barely began uncovering one of the most voluminous structures on the site.’
The Mayans – indigenous people of Mexico and Central America – built many cities that ruled over surrounding areas. Pyramids served as temples to their gods.