Story highlights National Geographic has announced the discovery of a lost city in the remote Honduran rainforest

The magazine says scientists believe the city belonged to a mysterious ancient civilization

A team documented the site after aerial light scanning showed man-made structures

(CNN) Archaeologists searching for a lost city in the jungles of Honduras have discovered the urban remains of what they believe is a vanished ancient civilization, National Geographic reports.

A writer and photographer for the magazine accompanied a team of scientists to Honduras' Mosquitia region on the trail of a legendary "White City" or "City of the Monkey God."

The expedition was launched after aerial light detection scanning -- known as LIDAR -- uncovered what appeared to be man-made structures below the rainforest, National Geographic said.

Seeking to confirm the discovery, a team of U.S. and Honduran archaeologists, a LIDAR engineer, an ethnobotanist, anthropologists and documentary filmmakers entered the remote region. They were protected by Honduran Special forces, the magazine said.

The National Geographic team was searching for the legendary "White City" or "City of the Monkey God."

Writer Douglas Preston said the team emerged February 25, after documenting the ruins of a "vanished culture."

Read More