El Mirador, Guatemala: The Ancient Lost City of the Maya | Ancient Architects

When you think of the Maya ruins of Guatemala, you often think of the Great Plaza of Tikal, a city that was thriving between 700 to 800 AD with pyramids and palaces aplenty. The ruins are iconic, being one of the largest archaeological sites of the pre-Columbian Maya civilisation, covering more than 6 square miles and boasting an incredible 3,000 structures. Much like the Mexican site of Teotihuacan, compared to the relatively unknown Great Pyramid of Cholula, the ancient city of Tikal overshadows another superpower of the Maya, the lost city of El Mirador, which is today lost within the dense jungle of Guatemala. El Mirador, thought to be the ancient capital city of the Maya, rose to prominence many centuries before Tikal and flourished between the sixth century BC and the first century AD. As well as being the home of tens of thousands of people, it also had several thousand stone structures, including the tallest structure ever built by the Maya – La Danta Pyramid. Watch this video to