Over 60,000 hidden Mayan ruins were discovered in Guatemala by researchers through the use of laser technology, which allowed them to look beneath the forest.
The researchers used Lidar, technology that removes the dense tree canopy that blankets the forest and creates a 3D map of what is under the surface, according to a report by BBC.
Millions of lasers are used to scan the Earth from a plane or helicopter, the measurements of wavelength are used to create the image of the group surface topography.
The ruins were found discovered near previously discovered Mayan cities. The mapped ruins were found in northern Petén.
Palaces, houses, elevated highways, and defense forts were all part of the ruins that the laser technology had discovered in the forest.
According to the BBC article, researchers believe that the population of the Mayans was “grossly underestimated,” and that it could be three or four times greater.
Previously the Lidar technology was used to discover hidden cities near the temple of Angkor Wat in Cambodia.
One of the new discoveries was a seven-story pyramid that was hidden by the jungle vegetation, according to BBC.
It was also found that there is a complex set of causeways that connected a network of cities in the area. There were roadways that were raised and areas that allowed passage during all seasons and were wide enough to allow heavy trade traffic.
The Lidar technology is part of a three year project that will continue to map more than 5,000 square miles of the country’s lowland areas.
