MÉRIDA, MEXICO—A Maya city including palaces, pyramids, and plazas has been discovered at a construction site on private land near the coast of the southern Yucatán peninsula, according to a report in The Guardian. Archaeologist Carlos Peraza said that the site, known as Xiol, was home to more than 4,000 people from about 600 to 900 A.D. Burial grounds holding the remains of adults and children were also found. “With time, urban sprawl [in the area] has grown and many of the archaeological remains have been destroyed … but even we as archaeologists are surprised, because we did not expect to find a site so well preserved,” Peraza said. The landowners say they will preserve the city, although the construction project will continue. To read about the only Maya city with an urban grid, go to “The City at the Beginning of the World.”

Source: archaeology.org