Researchers may have found lost city of Ciudad Blanca
It’s a legend that’s said to have begun with Hernan Cortes in 1526. And one that may end with the University of Houston in 2012. The lost city of Cuidad Blanca on the northern coast of Honduras. For centuries hunters and travelers have reported sightings of a large city carved of white stone in the thickets of the Mosquitia region, yet its location and existence have evaded archaeologists as long as its name has been known, perhaps until now.
University researchers have been doing mapping projects for archaeologists for years. But with advancements in technology, they’re discovering more than anyone thought possible.
Using a laser-based-light-detection-and-ranging system, or lidar, U of H professors flew over the area Ciudad Blanca is alleged to be and shined lasers into the jungle thicket, hoping to penetrate any open spaces between leaves and branches that lead to the jungle floor, looking for clues to the lost city’s whereabouts. The images that came back were startling.
Among the rocks and natural topography of the jungle floor, stones and shapes, pilings too perfect to be natural. Perhaps the markings of a civilization long vanished.
With these new images and advanced mapping, archaeologists can now attempt to enter the site by foot and see if it is indeed the lost city, and whether or not the curses and lore warning all those who enter are true.
