Lost Maya City of Valeriana Uncovered in Mexico, Revealing Over 6,600 Structures

Archaeologists have uncovered a previously unknown Maya city, Valeriana, nestled in Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula. The ancient site, located in east-central Campeche, is home to more than 6,600 structures, including impressive temple pyramids and a ball court. This remarkable discovery was made possible by the use of Lidar technology, which employs laser pulses to map the terrain and identify structures hidden beneath the surface. Valeriana’s discovery underscores how Lidar is revolutionizing archaeology, allowing researchers to uncover forgotten cities buried under modern landscapes.

The Lidar mapping of Valeriana reveals a densely packed urban center characteristic of the Maya Classic period, which spanned roughly between 250 and 900 AD. The city layout features multiple enclosed plazas, wide causeways, and residential terraces situated on the surrounding hillsides. The arrangement of these structures suggests that Valeriana may have been a political or economic center of the Maya civilization. What’s particularly striking is the fact that these ancient structures are located near modern highways and farmland, illustrating how the ancient and modern landscapes overlap in this region.

This discovery also highlights an innovative approach to archaeological research. The team, led by Luke Auld-Thomas, an archaeologist from Northern Arizona University, made use of pre-existing Lidar data that had been originally collected for ecological and forestry studies. By analyzing these data, the team was able to identify Valeriana without the need for expensive, dedicated Lidar surveys. This clever use of already available data has allowed researchers to bypass the financial constraints typically associated with new archaeological surveys and uncover a site that was previously overlooked.

The discovery of Valeriana is a testament to the potential of advanced technologies like Lidar in reshaping our understanding of ancient civilizations. By revealing hidden Maya cities that have long been buried beneath the jungle or modern infrastructure, archaeologists are unlocking new insights into the lives of the Maya people and their complex urban systems. As more sites like Valeriana are uncovered, we gain a deeper understanding of the cultural and historical richness that once thrived in these ancient civilizations.