Archaeologists working in the dense jungles of southern Mexico have uncovered a previously unknown Maya city hidden within the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve in Campeche, revealing an exceptionally well-preserved urban centre that had remained untouched for more than a millennium.
Named Minanbé, meaning “there is no path” in Yucatec Maya, the site was discovered by a Mexican-Slovenian research team led by archaeologist Ivan Šprajc of the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts. The discovery marks the culmination of three decades of archaeological investigations across the Central Maya Lowlands, one of the most densely populated regions of the ancient Maya world.
The newly identified city lies in a remote section of the reserve where dense vegetation and the absence of logging tracks had effectively concealed its remains. Archaeologists reached the site after cutting a five-kilometre route through the jungle before continuing by all-terrain vehicles and on foot.
“Compared with other places where we have conducted surveys, access here was much more difficult,” Šprajc said. “However, in the last three years, this is the first site we have found completely intact, with no signs of looting. It was a major surprise.”
The fieldwork, authorised by Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), focused on an area west of Chactún, a major Maya centre first identified by Šprajc’s team in 2013. Researchers used airborne LiDAR technology to detect hidden archaeological features beneath the forest canopy before verifying them on the ground.
LiDAR data initially revealed a settlement covering approximately 15 hectares. Subsequent exploration confirmed the presence of a substantial urban centre containing plazas, ceremonial structures, palatial buildings, terraces and an extensive water management system incorporating wetlands and hydraulic channels.
Among the most significant discoveries is a pyramidal temple rising more than 13 metres above the surrounding terrain. According to archaeologist Vitan Vujanović, the structure exhibits characteristics of the distinctive Río Bec architectural style, including finely crafted masonry, decorative façade panels, steep staircases and upper mouldings.
“This is the first time I have recorded a temple that is relatively well-preserved and still associated with a stela bearing glyphs,” Vujanović said.
Researchers documented a total of 14 monuments, including stelae and altars decorated with iconography and hieroglyphic inscriptions. One of the most remarkable finds, known as Stela 1, depicts a decapitation scene in which a figure brandishes a blade or axe over a captive.
Photogrammetric surveys were conducted on the monuments using hundreds of photographs to create detailed three-dimensional models. These digital reconstructions were analysed by epigraphist Octavio Esparza Olguín, who identified several important inscriptions despite significant erosion.
A calendrical glyph on Stela 1 records the date 5 Ajaw, corresponding to AD 849. The inscription suggests that at least some of the monuments were erected during the Terminal Classic period, shortly before the widespread abandonment of many Maya cities in the region during the 10th century.
Additional discoveries include several circular altars and a rectangular altar that appear to have been intentionally altered in antiquity. One monument, designated Monument 6, features hieroglyphic cartouches and the image of a ruler adorned with an elaborate feathered headdress and ceremonial regalia.
According to Esparza Olguín, one of the inscriptions on Monument 6 contains part of a Long Count date that may place it in the late seventh century AD, potentially making it the oldest dated monument identified in the surrounding area.
The discovery of Minanbé provides new evidence of the vast agricultural and political landscape that characterized the Maya Lowlands during the Late Classic period, when millions of people inhabited the region. The city probably played an important role in a wider network of agricultural production and trade, they say.
At the same time, the site poses new questions about the last centuries of Maya occupation in the region. Archaeologists are now investigating whether groups from the north of the Yucatán Peninsula may have entered the region during the Terminal Classic period, and so might have contributed to the shift in political power after the decline of the city.
For Šprajc and his coworkers, Minanbé is a significant archaeological discovery and also a reminder of how much still lies under the forests of the ancient Maya world.
“Each new site helps us better understand the complexity of Maya civilisation,” he said. “At the same time, it opens new questions that will require further research to answer.”
Sources : INAH
