Laser scanning of Mayan ruins reveals 1,800-year-old “ghost”

(NLDO) - Archaeologists in Mexico discovered a mysterious underground structure with painted walls beneath a Mayan soccer field.

According to Live Science, a multinational research team used LiDAR (a remote sensing tool that uses lasers) to survey a large area of ​​the lowlands where the Maya once lived in the state of Campeche - Mexico.

They discovered at a site known to be an ancient ball court, "ghosts" looming.

LiDAR images reveal the "ghost" of an underground structure - Photo: Žiga Koka

The hidden structures were later identified as an unidentified structure, consisting of plastered, painted walls. The size of the structure was quite large, indicating that it must be a building.

"This discovery clearly shows that it was a very important structure, as ball courts are usually only found at large Mayan sites, which were the center of regional political organization," said archaeologist Ivan Šprajc from the Slovenian Institute of Anthropology and Landscape Research, who led the research team.

According to a translated statement from Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History, the structure may date back to the Early Classic period (AD 200-600) and is covered with painted plaster.

The survey also yielded many other interesting findings, including several ancient Mayan settlements.

In addition, the research team also discovered at another location the ruins of a square, a 16-meter-high pyramid and a rectangular water reservoir.

On the flat top of the pyramid, archaeologists found a number of offerings: Pottery; a ceramic animal leg, an object such as a flint knife or spear tip.

Šprajc says the offerings date from 1250 to 1524, a period when the Maya Empire was in decline in the region. It may have been a desperate ritual by poor people still clinging to their ancestors' once-glorious domain.

Source: https://nld.com.vn/quet-laser-phe-tich-maya-bong-ma-1800-tuoi-lo-dien-196240716113821203.htm