From hidden temples to ancient palaces, these
are 10 ancient sites that have recently been revealed…. 10. Maya Structures, Guatemala Just last year in 2018, following a large
scale survey in northern Guatemala, more than 60,000 previously unknown Maya structures
were discovered. Among the finds were farms, houses, defenses,
and more than 60 miles of roads and waterways that connected the cities. To find these new structures, scientists focussed
on an 830 square mile region called the Maya Biosphere Reserve in Petén. They used LIDAR (Light Detection and Ranging)
to scan the ground, which allowed them to penetrate the thick coverage of vegetation
and see what lay beneath. Archaeologists have it much easier than before,
when you had to go trudging through the jungle facing wild beasts and untold dangers like
disease!! The structures have given a much deeper insight
into the Maya civilization, and have led the researchers to estimate between 7 and 11 million
people used to live in the area. This new scanning technique has been so successful,
that it's now being used in other places where the ground is tricky to look at and explore,
and gives archaeologists a whole new way to learn about ancient civilizations. 9. Kemune Palace As climate change continues to affect the
weather around the world, archaeologists are taking advantage of falling water levels to
uncover long lost structures. One of the most impressive sites that have
been recently revealed was in the Mosul Dam reservoir in Iraq. A drought caused levels to fall further than
they have for a while, and from the waters emerged a 3,400-year-old palace that had long
been buried. Known as the Kemune Palace, is was made with
mud-brick walls by the Mittani empire. The walls were 6 feet thick, and the structure
covered an area of 20,000 square feet. It would have once stood overlooking the Tigris
valley and would have been a focal point of the landscape during the 15th and 16th centuries. Very little is known about the Mittani empire,
apart from brief mentions in scripts that have been found in Egypt. No-one knows where their capital city was,
or what happened to them… and it’s hoped that discoveries like this palace could help
answer those questions. 8. Egyptian Burial Sites In early 2019, researchers announced an incredible
discovery in the river Nile Delta where they found a series of ancient tombs that dated
back to the Second Intermediate Period between 1782 and 1570 BCE. In total there were 20 burial sites in the
Kom al-Kholgan site, which is about 87 miles north of Cairo. According to the Egyptian supreme council
of antiquities, the remains weren't well preserved, but they did recover a number of animal bones,
stone artifacts, and pottery with symbols etched into it. While the discovery isn't close to some of
the greatest finds in Egypt's history, it helps us learn a little more about the lives
of Egyptians at the time and shows that there's still a lot more out there to be uncovered. Who knows what could be next? And now for number 7, but first, if you are
new here welcome, and let me know what topics you'd like to see next! 7. Tušhan, Turkey In early 2018, construction of the Ilisu dam
on the river Tigris in southeast Turkey was completed, and since then more than 115 square
miles of land was flooded, which resulted in the loss of 500 archaeological sites, and
the displacement of more than 70,000 people. With destruction comes opportunity, and after
the dam was given the go-ahead in the '90s, researchers were given free rein to recover
all that they could. This has led to some important discoveries
in what has now become the best-studied archaeological region in the whole of Turkey. One of the most important places to be researched
was the ancient city of Tušhan. It was the hub of defense for the northern
border of the Assyrian empire between 882 and 611 BCE and was home to people from across
the empire's lands. The 18-year study of the site uncovered a
palace, burial chambers, a series of high profile buildings, and countless artifacts. There were courtyards paved with mosaics,
a variety of sculptures and carvings, and even beds with ivory fittings. It's given a much greater view of the Assyrian
empire itself, which researchers hope will help lead them to other sites that they can
explore that haven't been flooded for modern-day uses. 6. Iron Age Settlements, Scotland Scotland is used to it raining, but in 2018
a drought changed things so much that a series of ancient sites were uncovered. Since the 1930s, authorities have conducted
aerial surveys of the landscape, and the images that were taken following the drought showed
some interesting developments. Patches in the way the grass grows indicate
where ancient structures might be found. Where there are structures, the crops don’t
grow as much, and where there are ditches, there’s more water available so the crops
grow quicker. The images have been used to find underground
passages from the iron age, a series of Iron Age burial sites, and the remains of Roman
camps and forts. The method of looking for archaeological sites
from the sky has resulted in more than 9,000 locations being identified, and now decisions
have to be made about which ones warrant further investigation. Decisions, decisions!! 5. Lake Titicaca Between the 5th and 12th centuries AD, the
Tiwanaku empire took hold in the Lake Titicaca basin near where Bolivia and Peru are today. It's a unique quirk of geological formation,
which has created an inland sea that's more than 12,000 feet above sea level and was the
perfect site for the civilization to establish itself. When the Spanish invaded there are believed
to have been around 1 million inhabitants. A few objects have been found in the waters
over the years, so archaeologists decided to take a much closer look. They focussed on a reef about 16 feet beneath
the surface and about 6 miles to the north of the Island of the Sun that’s one of the
lakes most notable features, and they couldn’t believe what they found. It's now thought that the civilization used
to go to the reef by boat, and conduct ritual ceremonies in honor of a ray-faced god. This involved sacrificing llamas, the remains
of which were found during the investigation, and offering valuable items which have also
been recovered from the water. They found miniature stone animals, ceramic
incense burners, and gold artifacts that included sheets and a medallion. Amongst further gold and precious stone objects
were oyster shells, too. These were of particular interest because
they came from more than 1,200 miles away, and suggest that the people regularly traded
with other cultures. 4. Lagunita and Tamchen, Mexico Dense forests across Mexico are difficult
enough to travel through, let alone discover ancient structures, so it’s not always easy
to find new sites. But recently, 2 large Maya towns have been
revealed in the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve, called Lagunita and Tamchen. They were both spotted from aerial photographs,
but the extent of what was there was only realized when researchers visited in person. Tamchén, for example, means ‘deep well’
in Yucatec Maya, and has at least 30 chultuns- underground structures, that are designed
to collect water. Some of which are 42 feet deep. Lagunita has a ball court and a 65-foot tall
pyramid, as well as several other buildings around 4 plazas, including one that has an
elaborate monster-mouth doorway. Designed to represent the earth and fertility
gods, these doorways were seen as portals to sites of religious significance. They also found altars with inscriptions carved
into the stone, and a number of smaller artifacts. Some of the structures in both of these towns
are designed in a way not seen anywhere else in Mexico, which has taught researchers so
much more about how things were. There’s likely still plenty more to be found,
too, so the hunt is on for the next big discovery. 3. Mammoth Kill Site, Austria In 2018, archaeologists announced the discovery
of a particularly gruesome site in Drasenhofen, Austria that was dated to between 18 and 28
thousand years ago… a stone age site that was full of the remains of mammoths and other
large animals. There were tusks and bones, along with tools
that were used to butcher them. It was the first site like this to be found
in Austria and shows how Palaeolithic people used to hunt. They would herd large animals into designated
kill zones where they knew the creatures would struggle to move through. When mammoths entered the area, they would
be at a major disadvantage, and the people would strike with spears and then butcher
them where they fell. It was a highly effective way for tribes to
take down animals that were many times their size and ensured they had enough food to survive
the cold and hostile environment during the last ice age. 2. Tenea, Greece According to Greek legend, following the destruction
of Troy, a group of Trojan prisoners went on to found a new city called Tenea. While the location of Troy has long been known,
Tenea has avoided discovery… until, that is, a discovery that happened in 2018. For the first time, evidence supporting the
existence of the city was found near the village of Chiliomodi in southern Greece. The first clues were found in 1984 with the
discovery of a sarcophagus in the village, but it took nearly 35 years until researchers
followed an ancient road, and uncovered a graveyard that contained the remains of two
men, five women, and two children. The tombs were filled with jewelry made from
bone, bronze, and gold, as well as several coins and vases. This was just the beginning, though, because
the researchers kept looking, and revealed something even more significant- the remains
of buildings that were part of the city of Tenea. There were structural beams and columns, marble
and stone floors and walls, a number of jars, and more than 200 coins. Most significantly were the graves of two
fetuses, which is why the site was identified as the location of the city because babies
were only ever buried in residential areas. 1. Hidden Aztec Temple In September of 2017, a 7.1 magnitude earthquake
struck central Mexico and, along with killing 369 people, it caused serious damage to buildings
and structures across the region. As a part of learning the extent to which
it had damaged sites, archaeologists were scanning a pyramid when they discovered a
temple hidden inside it. The pyramid is at the ancient site of Teopanzolco,
about 43 miles to the south of Mexico. The hidden temple has been dated to around
1150 AD and is believed to have been built by the Tlahuica civilization which was responsible
for most of the other structures in the city. They often built structures on top of other
structures, and the pyramid was already known to have been built on top of another pyramid…
but no one had any idea there was more inside. The temple is thought to have been dedicated
to the rain god Tláloc, who provided water to their crops. To appease the gods, children were sacrificed
during the first month of their calendar, although no remains have been found yet at
this new site. Ceramic shards and an incense burner were
found inside the temple, but further investigation has been put on hold because they also discovered
that the pyramid had been damaged by the earthquake as they had originally feared. Thanks for watching!! Which place were you surprised by the most? Let me know in the comments below!!
