THEY were lost for centuries under thick vegetation in a Mexican jungle, but now archaeologists have located two ancient Mayan cities.

Unearthed in the southeast of the Mexican state of Campeche, the cities were barely accessible to the research team. But the challenging journey reaped great rewards, with the discovery of the ruins of a pyramid, palace, altars and a huge doorway, Discovery News reported. The cities of Lagunita and Tamchen had been first been discovered by archaeologist Eric Von Euw in the 1970s, however he didn’t specify their location and they remained quite the mystery. Now, for the first time, they are out in the light and could provide crucial information in understanding the Mayan civilisation. Ivan Sprajc, of the Research Center of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts (ZRC SAZU) said it was a difficult hunt, and they relied on aerial photographs to help locate the sites. Sprajc’s team had been exploring the area around Chactun, the site of a large Maya city discovered last year. “The information about Lagunita were vague and totally useless,” Sprajc said. “In the jungle you can be as little as 600 feet (182 metres) from a large site and do not even suspect it might be there; small mounds are all over the place, but they give you no idea about where an urban centre might be.” He said that anomalies in the vegetation aroused their interest, pointing them in the right direction. The identity of Lagunita, a city spanning about 3000 square metres, was confirmed by comparing the newly discovered area and monument with drawing by Euw. The most impressive find was a giant door carved in the shape of a “monster” mouth, which is believed to represent a Mayan deity of fertility of the land. “These doors symbolise the entrance to a cave, and in general, to a watery world, the place of origin of maize and mythological abode of the ancestors,” explains Sprajc. There was also a ball court and a temple spanning nearly 20 metres high. They were surrounded by stone shafts and three stone alters. There was also a ball court and a temple spanning nearly 20 metres high. They were surrounded by stone shafts and three stone alters. Plus hieroglyphic inscriptions. Experts believe they may have been built in the Preclassic era (300BC-250AD).