An untouched ancient city was just discovered dating back nearly 3,000 years

The remains of a Maya city that dates back nearly 3,000 years has been found in northern Guatemala, and its name holds a significant meaning.

Pyramids and monuments were found as part of the city named Los Abuelos, which translates to The Grandparents. The city once stood around 21 kilometres (14 miles) from the archaeological site of Uaxactun in Guatemala’s northern Petén department.

It dates back to the "Middle Preclassic" period, approximately 800 to 500 BCE, and is considered one of the oldest and most significant ceremonial centres of the Maya civilisation, located in the jungle region of Petén near the Mexican border, a report from Guatemala’s culture ministry said.

So how did the city get its name? Two human-shaped sculptures were found at the site which have been dated between 500 and 300 BCE. Experts believe that the “ancestral couple” found there “could be linked to ancient ritual practices of ancestor worship,” the ministry said.

The two sculptures that represent a coupleHandout/Guatemalan Ministry of Culture and Sports/AFP

Los Abuelos covers an area measuring 16 square kilometres (six square miles). They also discovered a pyramid standing 33 metres (108 feet) high, and a “unique canal system” per the statement. The pyramid has murals from the Preclassic period.

“The site presents remarkable architectural planning” with pyramids and monuments “sculpted with unique iconography from the region”, the ministry said.

Last year a series of ancient interconnected cities were discovered in the remote El Mirador jungle in Guatemala. More than 400 settlements were found, with some dating back as far as 1,000 BC. They’re linked by roads too, and it’s led them to be described as “the first freeway system in the world”.

Discoveries like this have completely broadened our understanding of the Maya civilisation.

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