The Mayans were a civilisation known for their architecture, mathematics and astronomical beliefs, who date back as far as 2000BC, with many of their impressive constructions still standing in the jungles of southeast Mexico, Guatemala, Belize and western parts of Honduras. Belize and western parts of Honduras. In southern Mexico stands the Mayan city of Palenque, which dates from 226BC to 799AD and remained hidden for some 1,000 years. After its decline, it was absorbed into the jungle of cedar, mahogany and sapodilla trees, but has since been excavated and restored.
However, this astonishing city was actually first discovered in the 19th-century, lost documents showed during Amazon Prime’s “Secret of Archaeology”.
The 2014 series revealed: “Archaeologist John Lloyd Stevens wrote these words in his diary on May 11, 1840, about his expedition to Mexico.
“He wrote: ‘In the history of the world, nothing impressed me more than the sight of this big and attractive city, now barren and lost.’
“Stevens had set off many months earlier on the tracks of stories about cities hidden in the wild, tropical jungle, and people who had mysteriously disappeared.
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“His journey through uncharted terrain must have been difficult, with scorching temperatures and thick vegetation.
“Although on previous trips he had examined Egyptian pyramids, ancient monuments in Italy and Greek temples in Athens, it was here in the jungles of Central America that he was overwhelmed by an intense feeling of astonishment.”
The documentary went on to detail some of his discoveries.
It added: “He walked out of the forest and suddenly that he had reached the ruins of an ancient Maya city, Palenque.
“Stevens, and an architect – Frederick Catherwood – who painted watercolours of the area, were breathless when they saw the city’s sacred grounds.
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“The palace – the home of the royal family – was erected in the city centre on a 33-foot-high platform.
“The palace, in reality, was just a group of various buildings build one against the other.
“But in its own way, it was an architectural masterpiece, with cellars, chambers and rooms with rather low ceilings arranged around a courtyard.
“The decorations on the walls are still striking today, even though many of the colours, which Stevens and Catherwood marvelled about, have almost completely faded.”