00:00Scientists found an entire city of Guyangola that was hidden beneath the dense jungles
00:05of Mexico for 600 years.
00:08It covers 360 hectares, had over 1,000 buildings, 2.5 miles of defensive walls, a network of
00:15internal roads, and a well-planned urban layout with temples and ball courts, and separate
00:20neighborhoods for the elites and commoners.
00:23For centuries, people believed there was just an abandoned fortress there, based on stories
00:28passed on from generation to generation.
00:31Until recently, there was no way to see how truly huge it was without spending years on
00:36the ground.
00:37But thanks to the new technology, a remote sensing tool called LiDAR, they got a 3D model of the
00:43area in just two hours from a plane.
00:47Guyangola was built between the years 1350 and 1521.
00:51It was a crucially important place for the Zabatek people, a group that had lived in the
00:56area since around 700 BCE.
00:59In Guyangola, families lived together in homes with big patios in the middle, surrounded by
01:04rooms.
01:05When families got bigger, they built more rooms and made their homes larger.
01:09The study found that both the leaders and regular people worked together to make the
01:13city better.
01:15Because Guyangola was surrounded by mountains, they used this land wisely and built their
01:20houses in a way that fit the slopes and let rainwater flow naturally.
01:23This helped keep their homes safe and strong.
01:27They were built so well that many of these buildings are still standing, even after hundreds
01:31of years.
01:33There are two pyramids in the center of the city.
01:36They may have been used as temples where the priests celebrated rites and ceremonies to
01:40their deities.
01:42The priests brought offerings to the altars, and the people assembled at the two squares
01:46that are now sunken.
01:48In addition, there is also a palace with 64 rooms, some of them with circular columns on
01:53several sloped terraces.
01:55There are patios with many stairways all connected to each other.
01:59The sensing tool also found a round-shaped lookout point on a natural rock, where the Zabatek people
02:05could see their foes approaching from a distance.
02:09Researchers also noticed two circular structures that could have been used to watch the stars and
02:14measure time.
02:15They also found some tombs, so there was most definitely a city cemetery.
02:21By the end of the 1400s, the Zabatek people controlled a large territory on the Pacific coast,
02:26and had successfully defended their land from the Aztecs, who were trying to take over more
02:31territory.
02:32They did the almost impossible, and survived a seven-month-long siege at Guyangola.
02:38When they won this conflict, and kept control of the southern part of Mesoamerica, the Zabateks
02:43didn't need to live in Guyangola anymore.
02:46Staying in the mountains had its pros, but they needed fresh water and good farmland to
02:50grow food.
02:52The small city of Tehuantepec, just 12 miles away, had these conditions, so they moved
02:57there just before the Spanish arrived in 1521.
03:01Over time, Zatapak traditions started to fade, but their culture didn't disappear completely,
03:07and more than 300,000 Zabatek people still live in Oaxaca state in Mexico.
03:12They speak their own languages and keep their traditions alive.
03:17Creating the 3D model of the lost city is just the beginning of the research.
03:22Archaeologists hope that future studies of Guyangola will help us learn more about how
03:26the Zabateks were organized, how they ruled their cities, and how they interacted with the
03:31Spanish when they arrived.
03:33They plan to study all 1,100 buildings found in the LIDAR scan, and it will take a few years.
03:39Instead of digging up the ruins, they will use special technology to scan the land and
03:44learn more about the city without damaging it.
03:48This same tech helped scientists find another massive ancient city that lay hidden beneath
03:52the thick green canopy of the Amazon forest.
03:55A whole network of houses, plazas, roads, and canals was hiding in the shadow of a mighty volcano.
04:03For centuries, many scientists assumed that ancient Amazonian people lived in tiny huts,
04:08clearing patches of land to survive.
04:11But this city, built 2,500 years ago and inhabited for 1,000 years, proves the opposite.
04:17Now, scientists think tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people lived
04:22in complex urban societies.
04:24Scanning the area, found 6,000 rectangular platforms, each measuring around 66 by 33 feet,
04:31and standing 6 to 9 feet high.
04:34These structures were arranged in clusters around central plazas, with straight roads with perfect
04:39right angles and paths connecting them.
04:42One of the roads was 16 miles long.
04:45Building straight roads like this is far harder than just following the landscape.
04:49Some of these roads may have had deep spiritual or ceremonial significance.
04:54The volcano's rich soil helped the civilization thrive.
04:58But it may also have led to its downfall.
05:01Researchers also found signs of threats to the cities, such as ditches that blocked entrances
05:05to the settlements.
05:07Maybe some people living nearby were trying to get in.
05:10The next step for the researchers will be studying the adjoining 116 square miles to know
05:15more about this large, complex society that could be bigger than the well-known Mayan societies
05:21in Mexico and Central America.
05:24Meanwhile, in 1963, a man in Turkey discovered an ancient city while renovating his own house.
05:31He knocked down a wall in his basement and found a mysterious room.
05:35He kept digging and saw a tunnel.
05:38It led to the Derinkuyu Underground City.
05:40It's one of the deepest multi-level underground settlements in Cappadocia and in all of Turkey.
05:47The inhabitants lived on eight levels and had access to cellars, storage areas, chapels,
05:52a school, a study room, and other structures.
05:56All floors were connected by an extensive network of tunnels.
06:00The underground city was probably built as a shelter.
06:03The construction is hiding at 279 feet deep, and you can't see it from the outside.
06:09The complex was large enough to shelter about 20,000 people with their livestock and food
06:14supplies.
06:15There was also a 180-foot ventilation shaft.
06:19Archaeologists believe that Phrygians first built the levels.
06:22The Romans used and enhanced the structure later.
06:25The golden time of Derinkuyu was during the Byzantine era.
06:30The next lost and found city appeared only in a few inscriptions in ancient texts, so no
06:35one could be sure it really existed.
06:38Scientists searched the majority of the coast of Egypt until one archaeologist and his team
06:43detected a colossal face looking at them from under the water.
06:47The ancient city of Thonis Heracleion was discovered completely submerged, four miles off Alexandria's
06:54coast.
06:55In the ruins of the lost city, there were 64 ships, 700 anchors, and a treasure trove of gold coins.
07:04Scientists believe the 16-foot-tall statue and the temple remains are the most important
07:08findings discovered by the expedition.
07:11Back then, the city had ceremonies and celebrations that took place in the Temple of Amman.
07:17The ruins and artifacts were made from granite and diorite, so they were in good condition
07:22even after having been in contact with water for centuries.
07:26To give people a glimpse into what life was like 2,300 years ago in one of the most important
07:32trade ports of the world.
07:34The city had a network of canals, sort of like an ancient Egyptian Venice.
07:39The canals linked many separate harbors and anchorages.
07:42Towers, temples, houses, and other structures were also linked by bridges.
07:48Thonis Heracleion was the country's main port for international trade and the collection
07:53of taxes.
07:55No one really knows how the city ended up submerged, but archaeologists connect it with
07:59natural causes.
08:01At the end of the 2nd century BCE, most probably after a flood, it got covered with water.
08:08Then Alexandria, the city founded by Alexander the Great, became more glorious than Heracleion.
08:15Before Alexandria's fame, Heracleion was the main port of entry to Egypt.
08:19So after the tragedy, many ships heading for Heracleion had to change their route and go
08:24to Alexandria.
08:27Heracleion lost its glory until its discovery in 2000.
08:31That's it for today!
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