For centuries, these ruins remained hidden behind dense hills and wetlands, tucked away in a wilderness where even logging trails never penetrated.
The discovery began with aerial scans of Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, but verification required a grueling ground expedition. After navigating old forest roads and pushing ATVs to their limit, the research team was forced to proceed on foot, trekking three miles through deep mud with machetes to reach the site.
Upon arrival, the team uncovered a significant complex featuring plazas, terraces, altars, and stelae, including a well-preserved pyramidal temple standing over 40 feet tall. Among the findings were two key dates: one monument depicts a decapitation scene dated to A.D. 849, while another dates back to the late 600s A.D.
These dates suggest the site flourished during the centuries immediately preceding the mass abandonment of major Maya urban centers.
“What was a big surprise was that there were so many monuments there,” noted Ivan Sprajc, the lead archaeologist whose work was recently announced by Mexican authorities. “It’s a kind of row of monuments. That was incredible for such a relatively small site.”
María Elena Vega Villalobos, a Mexican historian and expert in Mayan hieroglyphs, suggests that the presence of 14 monuments indicates the site held significant political importance and was far from a minor settlement.
Dr. Sprajc, a professor at the Slovenian research center ZRC SAZU, highlighted the site’s exceptional condition, noting a complete absence of looting. He observed that while “chicleros”—workers who harvest gum from zapote trees—had passed through roughly 70 to 80 years ago, they left the ruins undisturbed, likely because the modern black market for antiquities had not yet matured.
Due to its extreme isolation, the researchers named the site Minanbé, which translates from Yucatec Maya as “there is no path.”
While the monuments show natural erosion, they remain largely intact, though some exhibit intentional alterations made centuries ago. One relief shows a ruler in a feathered headdress and wristbands, while another depicts a captive facing a blade. Dr. Sprajc believes the broken or rearranged inscriptions suggest the arrival of hostile outside groups.
This evidence aligns with the turbulent era leading up to the collapse of the classic Maya civilization in the ninth and 10th centuries. According to Dr. Vega, this period was defined by intense competition between rival dynasties, where defacing a neighbor’s monuments served as a way to erase the political and social memory of a territory.
Located within the Calakmul Biosphere Reserve in Campeche, much of the site remains buried. Full excavation will require a larger workforce and a robust logistics chain for food and water. However, initial limited digs have already yielded ceramics and other vital artifacts.
“This site evidently was important on the regional level; we have a name of a ruler and all those monuments,” Sprajc said.
The discovery was aided by lidar technology, which reveals ancient agricultural modifications beneath the canopy. Rosemary Joyce, professor emeritus at the University of California, Berkeley, notes that these findings challenge the image of a “trackless jungle,” revealing instead a network of towns surrounded by intensively cultivated land.
Lisa Johnson, an archaeologist at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, praised the team’s rigorous fieldwork. She stated that the findings illuminate the extent of Maya urbanization in areas previously considered “archaeological blind spots.”
The pristine nature of Minanbé is particularly rare. Luis Alberto Martos of Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology, who has often encountered ransacked sites, noted that the lack of looting means Minanbé will provide a wealth of untapped information.
Despite the success, the 70-year-old Dr. Sprajc is uncertain about returning. The expedition required complex funding from the Slovenian Research and Innovation Agency, various Slovenian companies, and private donations from the Ken & Julie Jones Charitable Foundation and the Milwaukee Audubon Society.
Between the financial hurdles and the physical toll of bushwhacking, Sprajc admitted, “I feel the weight of the years… perhaps I should leave this job to my younger colleagues.” However, he stopped short of ruling out a future trip.