Mayan Cities Discovered in Mexican Jungle (Photo)

Two ancient Mayan cities have been discovered deep in the Mexican jungle, containing giant palaces and even a 65-foot high temple pyramid.

The discovery was made in the southeastern part of the Mexican state of Campeche, hidden in jungle so thick that archeologists needed aerial photographs to find the sites.

The first city is called Lagunita and features doorways depicting the open mouth of an earth monster. The second city was named Tamchen and its history going back to the Late Preclassic, between 300 B.C. and 250 A.D.

More than 30 chultuns were found at the site. These are bottle-shaped underground chambers, largely intended for collecting rainwater.

An expedition was led by Ivan Sprajc of the Research Center of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts.

“Both cities open new questions about the diversity of Maya culture, the role of that largely unexplored area in the lowland Maya history, and its relations with other polities,” Sprajc said to Discovery News.

The collapse of the Mayan civilization is still unclear. The theories includes droughts or over populations.

Agencies/Canadajournal