The Key To So Many Amazing Discoveries Is Restoring This Ancient Mayan Temple

At its height, it was one of the greatest human civilization to have ever existed.

Transcript

00:00When the Mayan peoples were still around, their empire was magnificent.

00:08Some historians estimate that at the height of their civilization, amongst their great

00:12cities in Mexico could have lived some 10 million people.

00:15Obviously the Mayans aren't around anymore, but now archaeologists from the Mexican National

00:19Institute of Anthropology are looking to restore this ancient building to its former glory.

00:24This is an ancient Mayan temple located in Xibalxaltun in Mexico.

00:28It's a 40-foot tall structure that was first excavated a number of years ago.

00:32Archaeologists say this was a temple built exclusively for high-ranking individuals,

00:36likely the rulers of the city, and it contains upwards of around 50 rooms, sunken patios

00:41and porticos, but they expect to find more.

00:43This city was one of the largest human settlements in the world between the years 770 and 880

00:49AD.

00:50Currently the building sits at around 70% restored according to the experts, but they

00:53are looking to fully restore it in the coming months.