Remains of a 2,800-year-old Mayan city discovered in Guatemala

These three sites are “of vital importance,” according to the Guatemalan media Soy 502. On Thursday, May 29, the Guatemalan Ministry of Culture announced the discovery of remains of a 2,800-year-old Mayan city, following archaeological excavations carried out in an area in the north of the country.

These places form “an urban triangle” and date back to the Middle Preclassic period (800-500 BC), specifies Soy 502. They allow us to learn more about “the ceremonial and socio-political organization” of the area where the department of Petén is currently located, bordering Mexico .

The discovery was made “about 21 kilometers from the archaeological site of Uaxactún, in the department of Petén,” reports DW Español . The city covers “about 16 km²,” adds the Spanish-language media outlet. It once “probably served as a regional power center,” speculates the newspaper Prensa Libre , based in Guatemala City, the capital. “Two large anthropomorphic stone figures representing an ancestral couple” were found there, which explains why the site is called “Los Abuelos” [“The Grandparents”], adds Prensa Libre.

Another sector, known as “Petnal” was also discovered. “It has a 33-meter-high pyramid, decorated with frescoes from the Preclassical period,” details Soy 502.

The last site, "Cambrayal," demonstrates the existence of "an advanced hydraulic infrastructure, as it houses a unique system of water transport canals," the Guatemalan news portal assures.

The research was carried out by local and foreign archaeologists, with the support of Comenius University in Bratislava,Slovakia , Soy 502 reports.

“The Mayan civilization spread across territories that currently occupy southern Mexico, Guatemala, Belize , El Salvador , and Honduras ,” contextualizes DW Español. “Its existence dates back to at least 2000 BC. It reached its peak during the Classic period, between 400 and 500 AD, before declining during the Postclassic period (900-1200 AD).”