A 15-year-old boy may have discovered a lost Mayan city using satellite photos and ancient astronomy techniques.
William Gadoury, from Quebec, Canada, came up with the theory that the ancient civilisation chose the location of its towns and cities according to star constellations, reports The Independent.
William discovered that Mayan cities lined up exactly with the stars in the civilisation’s major constellations.
After studying the star map further, he was shocked to discover that it looked like one city was missing from a constellation of three stars.
So, in the true spirit of discovery, he took satellite images provided by the Canadian Space Agency, mapped them onto Google Earth and – unbelievably – found that there actually was a city where the star map suggested there would be.
William has also named the newly discovered city in the Yucatan jungle K’aak Chi – which means ‘Mouth of Fire’.
Doctor Armand La Rocque, from the University of New Brunswick, said one image showed a street network and a large square which could possibly be a pyramid.
He told The Independent:
A square is not natural, it is mostly artificial and can hardly be attributed to natural phenomena. If we add these together, we have a lot of indication there might be a Mayan city in the area.
Dr La Rocque said William’s discovery could even lead archaeologists to find other Mayan cities using similar techniques.
As if that wasn’t enough, William’s discovery will be published in a scientific journal and he will get to present his findings at Brazil’s International Science fair in 2017.
Outstanding work!
