Teen Finds Lost Mayan City Using His Own Star Map Discovery

A 15-year-old Canadian teenager has seemingly discovered a long-lost Mayan city after noticing previously-undiscovered correlations between maps of star constellations and the locations of the largest (known) Mayan cities. At some point William Gadoury realized that the two matched up — something, apparently, no one had ever noticed before. After using his discovery to match 117 Mayan cities with 22 star constellations, he discovered that one was missing...and, soon after, satellites revealed that he had probably pinpointed it correctly on a map.

William spent his free time matching up known Mayan cities with star constellations, with the cities spanning El Salvador, Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras. When it came to the 23rd constellation, though, William found only two cities that matched up, and one star that seemingly lacked a corresponding city.

Using Google Maps, Williams used his maps to determine where the city may have existed — the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico. That was only the start, though. With his information, the Canadian Space Agency had a satellite telescope take images of the area, and they reveal what appears to be the remains of an ancient city.

The images are said to show what looks like a Mayan pyramid surrounded by smaller structural remains. The city's location hasn't yet been confirmed, but if it turns out to be accurate, William says it will be "the culmination of my three years of work and the dream of my life."

Unfortunately, the city's location is described as being very remote and inhospitable in terms of accessibility, and so an expedition to get there will be very expensive. While someone will likely visit the region one day, it could be a while before researchers verify whether William's research is fruitful.

SOURCE: The Telegraph