Archaeologists have uncovered a previously unknown Maya city hidden deep inside Mexico’s Calakmul Biosphere Reserve. Named Minanbé, the remarkably well-preserved settlement remained concealed beneath thick jungle for more than 1,000 years.
The discovery was made by a Mexican-Slovenian team led by archaeologistIvan Šprajc from the Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts. Hidden in a remote part of the state of Campeche, the site escaped modern disturbance thanks to dense vegetation and the absence of logging roads.
The find is the latest result ofnearly 30 years of archaeological work across the Central Maya Lowlands. Researchers combined airborne LiDAR scans with field surveys to locate and document the site after receiving authorization from Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).
LiDAR Revealed a City Hidden Beneath the Forest
The expedition focused on an area west of Chactún, a major Maya center first identified by Ivan Šprajc‘s team in 2013. LiDAR technology detected structures buried beneath the forest canopy, leading archaeologists to what turned out to be an extensive urban settlement. Getting there was no easy task. The team had to clear a five-kilometer path through the jungle before continuing by all-terrain vehicles and then on foot. Once on site, they confirmed the city covered about 15 hectares.
Researchers identified plazas, ceremonial buildings, palaces, terraces and an extensive water management system that included wetlands and hydraulic channels. The city was named Minanbé, meaning“there is no path” in Yucatec Maya, a nod to the site’s remote location. Šprajc said the condition of the city came as a surprise.
“Compared with other places where we have conducted surveys, access here was much more difficult. However, in the last three years, this is the first site we have found completely intact, with no signs of looting. It was a major surprise.”
Ancient Monuments Reveal a Forgotten Past
As explained by a translated statement from Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History, one of the site’s standout structures is a pyramidal temple rising more than 13 meters above the surrounding landscape. Archaeologist Vitan Vujanović noted that the building displays several features of the Río Becarchitectural style, including finely crafted stonework, decorative façade panels, steep staircases and upper moldings.
The temple is also linked to a carved stela, something Vujanović said he had not documented before at a site in this condition.
“This is the first time I have recorded a temple that is relatively well-preserved and still associated with a stela bearing glyphs.”
The team documented 14 monuments, including stelae and altars decorated with hieroglyphic inscriptions and carved imagery. One of the most striking, Stela 1, shows a figure holding a blade or axe over a captive in a decapitation scene.
To study the monuments more closely, researchers created detailed 3D models using photogrammetry. Those digital reconstructions allowed epigraphist Octavio Esparza Olguín to examine inscriptions that had been heavily worn by time.
Minanbé’s Maya Past Revealed
One inscription on Stela 1 records the date 5 Ajaw, which corresponds to AD 849. As reported by the research team, this indicates that at least some of the monuments were erected during the Terminal Classic period, shortly before many Maya cities across the region were abandoned during the 10th century.
The archaeologists also foundseveral circular altars and a rectangular altar that appear to have been intentionally altered in ancient times. Another monument, known as Monument 6, depicts a ruler wearing an elaborate feathered headdress and ceremonial regalia alongside hieroglyphic cartouches.
Esparza Olguín identified part of a Long Count date on Monument 6 that may place it in the late seventh century AD, potentially making it the oldest dated monument found in the surrounding area.
Researchers are also investigating whether groups from the northern Yucatán Peninsula moved into the area during the Terminal Classic period and may have played a role in the political changes that followed the city’s decline.
“Each new site helps us better understand the complexity of Maya civilisation,” he said. “At the same time, it opens new questions that will require further research to answer,” said Šprajc.
