Archaeology breakthrough as ancient Mexican city found 'frozen in time'

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

Researchers have discovered a 600-year-old lost city "frozen in time" in southern Mexico. Using groundbreaking technology, an archeologist from McGill University in Montreal, Canada has revealed the extent of Guiengola, a 15th-century city in southern Oaxaca, Mexico.

The site was previously thought to be a fortress where soldiers were garrisoned, but an advanced laser scanning technique has created a 3D map of the landscape, revealing a sprawling long-lost city.

It covered nearly 900 acres, with a vast network of roads, and more than 1,100 buildings, including temples, ball courts and neighborhoods.

The findings suggest that Guiengola was much more than a military fortress. "Because the city is only between 500 and 600 years old, it is amazingly well preserved," said Pedro Guillermo Ramón Celis, a McGill University archaeologist, in a statement about his findings. "You can walk through the jungle and still see houses with intact doors, hallways, and even fences dividing one dwelling from another." The laser technique is called Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR).