I was strolling through Muggle London when I overheard an interesting conversation. Word on the street is that there is a newly discovered 2000-year-old Mayan city in Guatemala.
Muggles have special machines to allow them to fly through the sky, much like our broomsticks. While using one of these flying machines, they were using another machine to search the rainforest in Northern Guatemala. This device, LiDAR, is compared to another Muggle contraption called radar. LiDAR uses laser light to scan areas. Muggles use it to scan dense rainforests for signs of ancient civilisations.
During one of these trips, Muggle researchers claim to have found a vast Mayan civilisation made up of more than 1,000 settlements. It covers an area of approximately 650 square miles. The settlements are linked with causeways, up to 110 miles long. Causeways are cleared, raised beds that people used as roads, which made it easier for people to visit other settlements. The ruins suggest the civilisation was densely packed, which goes against previous theories that suggest early Mesoamerican settlements were sparsely populated.
There was evidence found of large platforms and pyramids in some of the settlements, which could have served as centralised hubs for recreation, work, and politics. There were also ball courts in some of the settlements. Prior research has shown that these courts would have been used for a variety of sports native to the region.
Not only are there centralised hubs, ball courts, and causeways, but there are manmade canals that people used to transport water and reservoirs so they had water during dry periods.
I must say, dear friends, that this is an amazing discovery! Such a large settlement being discovered for the first time is something that does not happen often. It was thrilling to research and learn about the various devices Muggles use when researching as well. Perhaps we could learn something from them!
See you next month!Nina