For over 1,000 years, the dense forests of the Mexican state of Campeche have hidden the rich history of the ancient Maya civilization. Once regarded as an archaeological “blank spot,” this region, located in the Maya Lowlands (an area that stretches across present-day Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala, and southeastern Mexico), has long been a mystery for researchers. The Maya inhabited this area from around 1000 BC to AD 1500, yet much of their history remained veiled beneath the thick jungle canopy.
That all changed recently with the discovery of a vast Maya city and thousands of previously unseen structures in Campeche, now known as Valeriana, named after a nearby lagoon. The groundbreaking find was revealed in the journal Antiquity on Monday, with archaeologists reporting the identification of 6,764 structures in Valeriana and surrounding urban and rural settlements.
The discovery was made possible by a powerful technology called LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging), which uses laser pulses to scan the Earth’s surface from above. LiDAR equipment, flown from nearly 2,000 miles away, revealed the hidden Maya cities by piercing through the thick forest cover. The LiDAR data, collected in 2013 for a forest survey by The Nature Conservancy of Mexico, covered 47 square miles (122 square kilometers), unveiling a civilization that had long been concealed.
Among the newly discovered sites, Valeriana stands out with its large reservoir, ball court, temple-pyramids, and wide roads linking plazas—features typical of major Maya cities. The density of settlements in the region rivals other prominent Maya sites, such as Chichén Itzá, and the finding confirms what archaeologists had long suspected—that there was much more to Campeche’s ancient history than was previously known.
Luke Auld-Thomas, lead author of the study and a doctoral candidate at Tulane University, expressed both surprise and satisfaction with the discovery. “On the one hand, it was surprising; you see it and you’re struck by it. On the other hand, it confirmed what I expected to find,” he said. Auld-Thomas’s research focused on uncovering urban areas in the Maya Lowlands, and this discovery was a gratifying confirmation of his hypothesis.
For decades, Campeche remained largely unexplored due to its remote location and lack of accessible artifacts. This has now changed, as the LiDAR scans have not only revealed the locations of hidden cities but also illustrated the interconnectedness of Maya settlements. The discovery suggests a complex network of cities, towns, and rural areas across the region, with extensive road networks, residential areas, agricultural terraces, and defensive structures.
The findings challenge the traditional view of Maya cities as isolated city-states or regional kingdoms. Instead, they paint a picture of a vast, interconnected network that spanned much of the Maya Lowlands. Carlos Morales-Aguilar, a landscape archaeologist from the University of Texas at Austin, commented on the significance of the study, noting that the Maya adapted their urban infrastructure to the natural landscape, utilizing features like sinkholes and ridges for water management and urban planning.
The “LiDAR revolution,” as some call it, has transformed our understanding of ancient civilizations. As LiDAR technology continues to reveal more about hidden Maya cities, it is reshaping our perception of the scale and diversity of Maya settlements. Tomás Gallareta Cervera, an assistant professor at Kenyon College, emphasized the importance of LiDAR in advancing the study of urbanism and settlement patterns, calling it an exciting new framework for understanding how the ancient Maya thrived in their environment.
With these discoveries, archaeologists now face the challenge of preserving these newly uncovered sites. The full extent of Maya settlements, including possibly other major cities, remains to be uncovered, and safeguarding these ancient environments will be key to understanding and protecting their history. As Auld-Thomas cautioned, “It’s important to understand that these are places that have always been peopled to varying degrees and that people have an important place in their conservation.
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