Intact Maya City of Minanbé discovered in the Jungle of Campeche Mexico
Archaeologists from the Slovenian Academy of Arts and Sciences have discovered a city that lay hidden for over a thousand years in the jungle in the state of Campeche. They have named the site Minanbé, a Yucatec Maya phrase meaning “there is no road.”
Under the direction of Ivan Šprajc, Mexican and Slovenian researchers ventured into the northern region of Calakmul to explore a site near Chactún, another archaeological site discovered 13 years ago by the same team.
“Compared to other places where we’ve worked, access here was much more difficult. But, in the last three years, this is the first place we’ve found untouched, with no signs of looting,” says Šprajc, surprised by the absence of alleyways, which is what they call the dirt roads opened for logging decades ago and which served as a guide to reach other sites.
“That’s why we chose the name Minanbé, which comes from Yucatec Maya ( mina’an , 'there is no', and be , 'path'). We follow the tradition in Mayan archaeology of naming some sites according to some characteristic of the place or in allusion to the circumstances of the discovery,” he explains.
Archaeologists surveyed the site, moving from LiDAR images, which showed a 15-hectare settlement under the forest layer, to ground-level verification of an urban center, with squares surrounded by palatial and religious buildings, terraces, and wetlands with hydraulic channels.
They were struck by a pyramidal temple that exceeds 13 meters in height and has characteristics of the Rio Bec style, such as fine masonry or smooth panels on the facade, a steep staircase and moldings at the top.
According to specialists in a statement released by the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), this is “the first time a relatively well-preserved temple has been recorded.”
Main Image: Archaeologists have named the ancient city Minanbé, a phrase in Yucatec Maya that means “there is no road” INAH