Lost Mayan city is FOUND after 330 years: 'Land of the White Jaguar' is discovered in the heart of the jungle in Mexico

A lost city where rebellious Mayans held out against their Spanish conquerors for over a century has been found in the heart of the jungle.

With the conquistadors advancing, the Lakandon Chʼol fled their capital, Lakam-Tun, at Lake Miramar in modern-day Mexico, in the late 1500s.

Then, retreating into the jungles near the present Guatemalan border, they built a new stronghold, Sac Balam, where they resisted the Spaniards for 109 years.

But the city fell in 1695 and was ultimately lost to the jungle, with the Lakandon Chʼol forcibly relocated, and all but extinct by the mid-18th century.

Now scientists say they have found Sac Balam, using a groundbreaking predictive model to locate foundations and artefacts in the wilderness.

The discovery hinged on the testimony of Diego de Rivas, a friar who was active in the region during the late 17th century.

For Josuhé Lozada Toledo, of Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), it was a crucial clue.

He says: 'I discovered the possible location of Sak Bahlán through a predictive model using Geographic Information Systems.'

Mr Toledo adds: 'I revisited colonial chronicles to map the number of days Friar Diego de Rivas spent travelling from Sak Bahlán to the Lacantún River in 1698.

'In this way, I was able to predict the location of this important site.'

Sac Balam or Sak Bahlán means 'White Jaguar' in the Mayan language.

It's a name that evokes the perils of its remote location.

Dr Lozada Toledo says: 'The location deep in the jungle, along with the ruggedness of the territory, allowed the Lakandon Chʼol to hide from the Spanish conquerors.

'It is a land filled with dangerous animals and plants, and hidden behind the mountains.

'It is very remote, situated in the Montes Azules Biosphere Reserve, in the Chaquistero range.

'Reaching the place requires hiking for several hours and camping in the jungle. It is located southeast of Lake Miramar.

'Here they survived for 109 years outside Spanish rule, from 1586, when they abandoned their old settlement on Lake Miramar, until 1695, when they were finally conquered.'

After conquering the stronghold, the Spaniards renamed it Pueblo de Nuestra Señora de Los Dolores – Town of Our Lady of Sorrows.

Josuhé says: 'A massacre or genocide was carried out there by the Spanish against the local inhabitants.

'The few survivors were taken to Guatemala, and nothing was ever heard about Sak Bahlán again.'

An expedition to the site, backed by the Discovery Channel, has now discovered foundations, the remains of a wall, and a variety of artefacts.

The archaeological team includes Brent Woodfill of Winthrop University in the US and Yuko Shiratori of Rissho University in Japan.

Dr Lozada Toledo called it 'the most demanding fieldwork of my life'.

He says: 'All that remains of the city are the foundations of small, low structures – only about 30 to 40 centimetres high.

'And there are archaeological materials buried underground, which we are currently in the process of studying.

'So far, we have found pre-Hispanic pottery, ceramic figurines, obsidian, and the remains of a wall or fortification, as part of the work conducted by Dr Woodfill and Dr Shiratori.

'The next step is to analyse the artefacts uncovered during the excavations and to continue excavating the area, using metal detectors to identify 17th-century metal tools.'

Josuhé hopes their work will shed new light on the Lakandon Chʼol.

He says: 'I aim to give voice to the Maya groups that were silenced by Spanish colonisation.

'My main objective is to work with the popular Maya culture that once lived in Sak Bahlán.

'I want to learn more about their customs, religion, and daily life, as well as the way they were annihilated under Spanish rule.

'They were the last rebels to be conquered in the state of Chiapas.'