Mexico: Archaeologists uncover 1,500-year-old Mayan city full of palaces, pyramids

Archaeologists in the Yucatan region of Mexico discovered a well-preserved 1,500-year-old Mayan metropolis last week, according to local media.

During the late classical period, roughly between 600 and 900 CE, 4,000 people are claimed to have lived in the centuries-old metropolis of Xiol, which means “the spirit of man” in Mayan.

It was initially discovered in 2018, when the location was being considered as a potential development site for an industrial project near Merida on Yucatan’s northeastern coast, according to Deutsche Welle.

The property was thereafter taken over by the National Institute for Anthropology and History (INAH).

“The discovery of this Mayan city is important for its monumental architecture and because it has been restored despite being located on private land,” Arturo Chab Cardenas, delegate for the INAH centre in Yucatan, told news agency EFE.

Archaeologists discovered a plethora of pyramids, palaces, and plazas while excavating the site. The Puuc-style architecture of Xiol, which is obviously recognizable in the Chichen Itza pyramid, adds to its allure.

The architectural features of these structures, on the other hand, are more common in southern Yucatan.

People of diverse social classes resided in the city, according to other artefacts and data.

Mauricio Montalvo, one of the landowners where the city of Xiol was located, allegedly uncovered a big stone while excavating the site for development, only to subsequently reveal “enormous houses.”

As a result, he changed his intentions and turned the land over to INAH to help conserve the Mayan legacy.

Archaeologists discovered the bodies of 15 adults and children from modern-day Guatemala in a neighbouring burial ground, along with various other artefacts such as tools and ceramics from the pre-classical period, which dates from 700 to 350 BCE.