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There was a secret city built by the Maya known as Sokbalam,

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or the White Jaguar.

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The Spaniards spent 120 years looking for this city,

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deep in the jungle.

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There is a myth from the Maya.

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Some white jaguars will come from the sky to eat all humanity.

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Talking about the apocalypse?

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You gotta admit it's a great name for a city

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for trying to keep people out.

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This is like a proper Goonies treasure map.

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So right here should be the lost ruins of the last Maya city in Mexico.

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Careful, that board's not great.

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Machetes are ready, here we go.

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There's not even a hint of a trail in here.

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Now it's just jungle.

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Miren, estructura.

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Structures.

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Structure.

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Oh my word.

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Wow.

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These are stones.

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This is not natural.

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Oh, look at this.

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This is incredible.

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She's alive.

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These are most likely foundations for houses.

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Definitely.

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I really think we are in Sokbalam right now.

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This is incredible.

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Buenos Dias from the state of Chiapas in southern Mexico.

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These lands were once the dominion of the Maya.

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Over the course of nearly 4,000 years,

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they created a vast network of city-states

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that rivaled anything else in the new world.

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That is, until the Spanish arrived.

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Driven by a lot of people,

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the Maya was the only city-state in Mexico

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that had ever been built.

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That is, until the Spanish arrived.

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Driven by a lust for gold and glory,

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the conquistadors overwhelmed the indigenous people.

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And by the early 16th century,

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the Maya here in Mexico had fallen,

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except for one city.

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A small band of Maya fled into the jungle,

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where they built a secret refuge

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guarded by watchtowers and fierce warriors.

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A place to live as their ancestors had,

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called Sokbalam,

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the city of the White Jaguar.

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For over a century, they remained free and hidden.

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The location of Sokbalam bedeviled the Spanish,

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who hunted for it relentlessly.

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The Maya who lived there were feared by the Spanish,

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as fierce warriors, but also as phantoms,

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who would disappear deeper into the jungle

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whenever the Spanish got close.

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But eventually, the conquistadors found and subdued

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the last independent Maya city in Mexico.

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Its people were forcibly displaced,

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and Sokbalam was abandoned

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and lost to the jungle and time,

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falling off of maps and into legend.

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People have been looking for it ever since,

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and now one archaeologist is convinced he can find it.

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In 2019, he led a mission into the interior,

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but was rebuffed by the jungle.

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Now, using a long-forgotten map

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and aerial laser mapping technology,

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he believes he can finally pinpoint the city's exact location.

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Sokbalam remains an unfinished chapter

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in the saga of Maya civilization,

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and finding it would be a major discovery.

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So what are we waiting for?

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The city of the White Jaguar awaits.

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My name is Josh Gates.

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Hello!

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Explorer.

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Here goes nothing.

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Adventurer.

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Woo-hoo-hoo!

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Oh, that's a long way down.

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And a guy who ends up in some very strange situations.

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I'm alive for now!

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With a degree in archaeology and a passion for the unexplained,

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I travel to the ends of the earth,

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investigating the greatest legends in history.

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Ready to rock and roll.

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This is Expedition Unknown.

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In every direction, a sea of green.

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This untamed rainforest is known as the Lakhan Done Jungle,

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which spreads out across nearly four and a half million acres

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of Mexico and Guatemala.

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To find my first clue to the location of the lost city of the White Jaguar,

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I'm traveling to here, another Maya city, once lost, but now found.

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This is Bonampak.

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A once bustling metropolis lorded over by a huge acropolis

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that looms 150 feet above the open plaza below.

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I'm here to meet an archaeologist who's been searching

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for the lost city of Saqbalam for nearly a decade.

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Dr. Woodfill, I presume.

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It is indeed. Nice to meet you, Josh.

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A little warm around these parts.

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I was only going to get hotter, unfortunately.

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But an absolutely incredible sight.

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This is one of my favorite Maya cities.

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Awesome.

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And this is a very impressive monument here.

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This is actually one of the largest stele,

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kind of these standing stone monuments, in the entire Maya world.

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And I'm guessing this is our king or our lord here of this city.

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This is the greatest and last king of this city,

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Chanmuan II.

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So our king here is ruling roughly when?

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At the end of the eighth century,

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So this is hundreds of years, like 700 years,

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before the so-called lost city of Saqbalam that we're interested in.

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So what is Saqbalam in simple terms?

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Saqbalam is the very end of unconquered Maya civilization.

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And the particular Maya that are at Saqbalam are who?

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So they are a group of Maya called the Lakondon.

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They were a Maya group who splintered off to live deep in the jungles.

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They spoke a language that was actually the direct descendant

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of the language you see in this text.

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Okay?

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So how do we go from the height of this civilization here

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to this lost city of Saqbalam?

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So to really understand how the Maya got to Saqbalam,

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you have to look and understand the rises and falls of the Maya over time.

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For those of you asleep in high school history class,

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the Maya civilization is the largest city in the world.

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In the early 20th century,

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the Maya civilization rose more than 4,000 years ago

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and flourished throughout Central America all the way into the 16th century,

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erecting advanced city-states with populations in the hundreds of thousands,

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and making seriously badass achievements in astronomy, art, mathematics,

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and written language.

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They were also warriors who were not to be messed with,

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and their powerful ritualistic faith in their gods and divine kings

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led to an extended era of prosperity.

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It was toward the end of this time,

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in what's known as the Late Classic period,

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when Bonampak's impressive acropolis was erected.

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Look at the scale of this.

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It's insane.

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And you never feel smaller than climbing stairs like this.

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There is no way to go up here with any sort of dignity remaining.

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Any foreign dignitary is already humiliated

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before they actually get to who they're going to meet with.

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I mean, it's like you're climbing a mountain.

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The word that the Maya used for temples, at least, was wits,

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which literally means mountain.

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At the top of the rise is a three-chambered temple,

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and what archaeologists discovered inside

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is what makes Bonampak a truly historic site.

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Oh, my word.

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Are you kidding me?

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This is original, original paint, original murals from centuries ago.

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This was actually done around 8790.

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These are perhaps the finest Maya murals that survive today,

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and the most complete view of Late Classic Maya civilization.

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The elites depict it as a kind of paradise,

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where the people live in harmony with the land and their gods.

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The murals in this room show a celebration,

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Bonampak's crowned prince being presented as the heir to the throne.

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This looks like a huge party, right?

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You've got this huge procession with people blowing horns and instruments.

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You can feel this life and wealth and celebration in this room.

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And what about our young heir here to the throne?

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Is he going to take power?

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No, he will not deceive the throne,

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because there is no throne for him to deceive, too.

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Wow.

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Within a decade or two, the city has collapsed.

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The city is a ghost town.

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And in the next room, I can show you why.

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In the second chamber, things are decidedly darker.

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Gone are the scenes of peace and harmony,

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replaced with images of the Maya at war with each other.

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You can see all of the successful warriors from Bonampak,

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flanking the king and presenting the captives.

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You can see some of them have been tortured.

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That man right there, he is bleeding from his fingertips

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because his fingernails have been pulled out.

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This is war.

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There are many proposed reasons for the collapse that follows,

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including competition for resources, drought, and foreign invasion.

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But it is clear that the centers of power fail to adapt and collaborate.

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And by the 8th century, the Maya abandoned hard-to-defense cities like Bonampak

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in favor of smaller communities in the jungle,

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which is how most Maya are living when the Spanish arrive in the early 16th century,

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led by conquistador Hernán Cortés.

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Cortés is the first man in, but he is not really obsessed with the Maya.

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He is on a collision course with the Aztecs in Mexico City.

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That is where a lot of the gold was.

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Who are the conquistadors that start to take down the Maya?

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There was Cortés's right-hand man, Alvarado.

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There was Montego the Elder.

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To their so-called New World, the Spanish brought steel,

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muskets, cannons, and of course, disease.

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Much of the indigenous population here was killed by smallpox,

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and this, along with Spain's advanced weapons and divisions within the Maya world,

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allowed the Europeans to conquer this great civilization in only a century,

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but not without a fight.

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So this is where Saqbalam comes in.

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The Lacondon Maya ended up packing up shop and moving deep into the jungle.

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By the mid-17th century, the Spanish have conquered every Maya city in Mexico, save one.

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A jungle stronghold that continues to defy foreign rule,

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with dozens of watchtowers protecting over a hundred wood and fat structures,

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including three massive communal buildings.

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And the Spanish don't know where this place is, and I imagine this drives them nuts.

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Oh yeah, the Spaniards spent 120 years looking for this city.

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The people who lived there had become kind of boogie men who terrified the Spaniards.

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Right, because they were so elusive?

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They were elusive, and any time there was an encounter, it was a violent one.

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Right.

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They were kind of pioneers of guerrilla warfare, and it kept them safe and hidden for decades.

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But the Spanish eventually fined Saqbalam.

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The Spaniards fined Saqbalam in 1695 after the founding of Harvard.

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Right, it's that late.

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Conquistador Nicolás de Valenzuela is the man who finds and conquers the city,

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quickly and brutally bringing it under his control.

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The Spanish maintain it for a decade before abandoning it to history,

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where it has stayed utterly missing for centuries.

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Finding it today would reveal the final secrets of the free Maya people,

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a historical and cultural treasure beyond value.

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Can Saqbalam be found?

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I think so.

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Can you find it?

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I hope so.

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The confidence was fading a little.

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Okay.

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There's a reason for that.

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Brent has gone looking for Saqbalam before.

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In 2019, he went into the jungle to find it,

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only to be stopped short by the impenetrable wilderness.

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But now, he has new information and a new approach.

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How are you going to find it?

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So, I have a colleague who's been using Spanish colonial texts and cutting-edge technology

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to really narrow down where the site could be located.

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Okay.

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And we have a few good leads.

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All right, well, that's a start.

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Yeah, I'd love for you to meet this guy.

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Should we do it?

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Let's go.

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To Saqbalam.

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To Saqbalam.

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To meet Brent's colleague, we leave Bonampak and head north, deeper into Chiapas.

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I've been to Mexico before, but I've never been to this Mexico.

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In 1994, the socialist Zapatista Uprising rocked the region with violence,

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and it hasn't really stopped since.

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Today, the Zapatistas, the Mexican government, and let's not forget the cartels,

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all operate along this border zone.

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And the roads through here are fine.

256
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It's not what I've read.

257
00:12:47,000 --> 00:12:50,000
I've read that we are basically in the middle of Narco territory here.

258
00:12:50,000 --> 00:12:51,000
Yeah, sure.

259
00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:52,000
And it's fine.

260
00:12:52,000 --> 00:12:53,000
It's fine.

261
00:12:53,000 --> 00:12:54,000
It's fine, right.

262
00:12:54,000 --> 00:12:55,000
Nothing's happened yet.

263
00:12:55,000 --> 00:12:56,000
Nothing's happened yet.

264
00:12:56,000 --> 00:12:57,000
Oh, boy.

265
00:12:58,000 --> 00:13:04,000
Brent and I drive as inconspicuously as possible to the shores of nearby Lago Cebal.

266
00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:05,000
Running out of road here, Brent.

267
00:13:05,000 --> 00:13:06,000
We are here.

268
00:13:06,000 --> 00:13:07,000
This is it.

269
00:13:07,000 --> 00:13:08,000
This is it.

270
00:13:08,000 --> 00:13:14,000
Where his colleague is waiting, an archaeologist with Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology

271
00:13:14,000 --> 00:13:16,000
and History, Josue Lozada.

272
00:13:17,000 --> 00:13:18,000
Josue.

273
00:13:18,000 --> 00:13:19,000
Hey, good to see you, Brent.

274
00:13:19,000 --> 00:13:21,000
Good to see you, man.

275
00:13:21,000 --> 00:13:24,000
So, Josh, this is Josue, the guy I was telling you about.

276
00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:25,000
Nice to meet you, Josh.

277
00:13:25,000 --> 00:13:26,000
Hola.

278
00:13:26,000 --> 00:13:30,000
He's been working in this area for about 15 years, and he has been looking for Sac-Balam

279
00:13:30,000 --> 00:13:31,000
for the last 10.

280
00:13:31,000 --> 00:13:33,000
So, you've been looking for 10 years?

281
00:13:33,000 --> 00:13:34,000
For 10 years.

282
00:13:34,000 --> 00:13:35,000
Has it driven you crazy yet?

283
00:13:35,000 --> 00:13:36,000
I think so.

284
00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:38,000
Okay.

285
00:13:38,000 --> 00:13:39,000
He has something very special.

286
00:13:39,000 --> 00:13:40,000
Okay, what's that?

287
00:13:40,000 --> 00:13:42,000
He may have a map to the lost city.

288
00:13:42,000 --> 00:13:43,000
You have a map?

289
00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:44,000
A map.

290
00:13:44,000 --> 00:13:45,000
Can we see?

291
00:13:45,000 --> 00:13:46,000
Yes, of course.

292
00:13:46,000 --> 00:13:47,000
Please, don't look at it.

293
00:13:47,000 --> 00:13:52,000
Is it possible that Josue and Brent have figured out a path that leads to the fabled lost city?

294
00:13:52,000 --> 00:13:53,000
This is the map.

295
00:13:53,000 --> 00:13:55,000
Look at this map.

296
00:13:57,000 --> 00:14:04,000
This is like a proper Goonies treasure map.

297
00:14:04,000 --> 00:14:05,000
Where did this come from?

298
00:14:05,000 --> 00:14:08,000
It's in the Arkay of the Indies in Seville, Spain.

299
00:14:08,000 --> 00:14:14,000
Archaeologist Brent Woodfill is attempting to locate the city of the white jaguar Sac-Balam,

300
00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:18,000
the last settlement of free Maya in Mexico before the conquest.

301
00:14:18,000 --> 00:14:25,000
Sac-Balam has been missing for 300 years, but now Brent's colleague, Josue Lozada, is showing

302
00:14:25,000 --> 00:14:29,000
us a map that could finally put the lost settlement within reach.

303
00:14:29,000 --> 00:14:31,000
Who made this map?

304
00:14:31,000 --> 00:14:38,000
So this is a friar named Diego de Ribas, who was actually stationed in Sac-Balam after

305
00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:40,000
it was conquered by the Spaniards.

306
00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:45,000
Like Spanish priests all over the Americas, de Ribas was sent to Sac-Balam to convert

307
00:14:45,000 --> 00:14:48,000
the indigenous people to Catholicism.

308
00:14:48,000 --> 00:14:53,000
When he was later reassigned, he drew this map to depict the route from Sac-Balam to

309
00:14:53,000 --> 00:14:56,000
another settlement in a lake in neighboring Guatemala.

310
00:14:56,000 --> 00:15:00,000
So we have this literal hand-drawn map here on the right and then a lot of writing on the left.

311
00:15:00,000 --> 00:15:01,000
What is this?

312
00:15:01,000 --> 00:15:04,000
This is a key of all the places that he marks on the map.

313
00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:08,000
So it's a literal key, so it's A-B-C-D-E-F and these are all locations on the map.

314
00:15:08,000 --> 00:15:13,000
These are all locations he was eventually going to put on the map had he actually finished it.

315
00:15:13,000 --> 00:15:14,000
The map's unfinished.

316
00:15:14,000 --> 00:15:20,000
This is, quite literally, a map to a lost city, but there is one big catch.

317
00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:25,000
Does he bother to mark the location of Sac-Balam? Does he do that?

318
00:15:25,000 --> 00:15:26,000
No.

319
00:15:26,000 --> 00:15:27,000
What?

320
00:15:27,000 --> 00:15:30,000
It's in the key under letter D.

321
00:15:30,000 --> 00:15:34,000
So, Pueblo de Nuestra Señora de los Dolores.

322
00:15:34,000 --> 00:15:37,000
So this is the name of Sac-Balam. The Spanish rename it.

323
00:15:37,000 --> 00:15:38,000
Yes.

324
00:15:38,000 --> 00:15:39,000
But there's no D over here.

325
00:15:39,000 --> 00:15:40,000
No.

326
00:15:40,000 --> 00:15:41,000
Perfect.

327
00:15:41,000 --> 00:15:42,000
Okay.

328
00:15:42,000 --> 00:15:45,000
So looking at this map, what do we know for sure?

329
00:15:45,000 --> 00:15:49,000
For sure, this is the place where he ended the journey.

330
00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:51,000
So we have this labeled.

331
00:15:51,000 --> 00:15:53,000
That's the finish line. That's where he's going.

332
00:15:53,000 --> 00:15:54,000
Okay, so that's a lot.

333
00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:57,000
I mean, that gives us a geographical pole in the ground here.

334
00:15:57,000 --> 00:15:58,000
Right.

335
00:15:58,000 --> 00:15:59,000
Right?

336
00:15:59,000 --> 00:16:00,000
Okay, what else do we know?

337
00:16:00,000 --> 00:16:02,000
We have some directions.

338
00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:03,000
Here is the north.

339
00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:04,000
North.

340
00:16:04,000 --> 00:16:05,000
Here is the south.

341
00:16:05,000 --> 00:16:06,000
Sure.

342
00:16:06,000 --> 00:16:09,000
Okay, so we've got our endpoint and we've got cardinal directions.

343
00:16:09,000 --> 00:16:10,000
And what else?

344
00:16:10,000 --> 00:16:11,000
What is this symbol?

345
00:16:11,000 --> 00:16:18,000
So, the P is actually a really important salt production zone that the Maya were using the Spaniards took over.

346
00:16:18,000 --> 00:16:20,000
Okay, and we see that on here.

347
00:16:20,000 --> 00:16:21,000
Salinas.

348
00:16:21,000 --> 00:16:23,000
And so do we know where this location is today?

349
00:16:23,000 --> 00:16:26,000
Well, I've actually been working there for 12 years.

350
00:16:26,000 --> 00:16:28,000
So we better know where it is.

351
00:16:28,000 --> 00:16:29,000
Yeah.

352
00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:32,000
Okay, so this is another real geographical pin that we can put in this map.

353
00:16:32,000 --> 00:16:34,000
So how do we figure out where Sac-Balam was?

354
00:16:34,000 --> 00:16:39,000
Josh, there are two roads that might be the key to figuring out where it is.

355
00:16:39,000 --> 00:16:40,000
Okay.

356
00:16:40,000 --> 00:16:42,000
The first is labeled O right here.

357
00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:46,000
O is the road from Sac-Balam to the Salt Works.

358
00:16:46,000 --> 00:16:48,000
Oh, that's huge.

359
00:16:48,000 --> 00:16:52,000
So that means you follow this dotted line somewhere out here should be Sac-Balam.

360
00:16:52,000 --> 00:16:53,000
Exactly.

361
00:16:53,000 --> 00:16:58,000
And then also this road that would lead from a town in Guatemala to Sac-Balam, but the road never got built.

362
00:16:58,000 --> 00:17:05,000
A planned Spanish road from the Guatemalan town of Isch-Catán to Sac-Balam, along with the road from the Salt Works,

363
00:17:05,000 --> 00:17:10,000
offers us two paths that lead to a critical intersection.

364
00:17:10,000 --> 00:17:11,000
May I?

365
00:17:11,000 --> 00:17:12,000
Yeah.

366
00:17:12,000 --> 00:17:13,000
Yeah, of course.

367
00:17:13,000 --> 00:17:17,000
So the road that marks the spot, now we just need to find X.

368
00:17:17,000 --> 00:17:20,000
The lost city of Sac-Balam should be there.

369
00:17:20,000 --> 00:17:22,000
So how do we figure out where that X is?

370
00:17:22,000 --> 00:17:25,000
The way to figure out is to look in these lines.

371
00:17:25,000 --> 00:17:26,000
These?

372
00:17:26,000 --> 00:17:27,000
Yes.

373
00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:28,000
Are these rivers?

374
00:17:28,000 --> 00:17:29,000
They look like rivers.

375
00:17:29,000 --> 00:17:30,000
Yes, there are rivers.

376
00:17:30,000 --> 00:17:33,000
We can identify the rivers to figure out the distance to Sac-Balam.

377
00:17:33,000 --> 00:17:35,000
I want to show you this map.

378
00:17:35,000 --> 00:17:36,000
Oh, a much better map.

379
00:17:36,000 --> 00:17:41,000
Looking at the modern map, we can identify the name of the rivers here.

380
00:17:41,000 --> 00:17:43,000
Okay, so what is this one with all the twists in it?

381
00:17:43,000 --> 00:17:46,000
This is the Lacan-Tun river.

382
00:17:46,000 --> 00:17:48,000
Yeah, you can totally see that.

383
00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:54,000
The many undulations of the Lacan-Tun river align with the twists seen on Don Diego's crude map.

384
00:17:54,000 --> 00:17:56,000
And then the one that goes across?

385
00:17:56,000 --> 00:17:59,000
This is the Usumacinta river.

386
00:17:59,000 --> 00:18:05,000
Don Diego's account was that he arrived at the intersection of the two rivers after five days on the Lacan-Tun,

387
00:18:05,000 --> 00:18:11,000
and continuing to work backward, he arrived at the river after four days of walking from Sac-Balam.

388
00:18:11,000 --> 00:18:13,000
And is that what this big circle is?

389
00:18:13,000 --> 00:18:14,000
Yes.

390
00:18:14,000 --> 00:18:16,000
This is a four-day walk?

391
00:18:16,000 --> 00:18:17,000
Yes, that's right.

392
00:18:17,000 --> 00:18:23,000
The diameter represents a four-day walk in any direction to this part of the Lacan-Tun river.

393
00:18:23,000 --> 00:18:26,000
But Don Diego wrote that he trekked from the west,

394
00:18:26,000 --> 00:18:33,000
which means that Hoseway has narrowed down the location of Sac-Balam to an incredibly tight search zone.

395
00:18:33,000 --> 00:18:37,000
So somewhere in this red arc is Sac-Balam.

396
00:18:37,000 --> 00:18:43,000
This is extraordinary because it really now, for the first time, is offering an actual target.

397
00:18:43,000 --> 00:18:51,000
Yeah, it still isn't a silver bullet, but it takes it down from about 1,500 square miles to about 150.

398
00:18:51,000 --> 00:18:53,000
Wow, that's a huge jump though.

399
00:18:53,000 --> 00:18:54,000
Yeah.

400
00:18:54,000 --> 00:18:56,000
So is there a way to get into this target zone?

401
00:18:56,000 --> 00:19:02,000
Yeah, we can come in from the west where there are actually several roads and established communities.

402
00:19:02,000 --> 00:19:05,000
It doesn't get us all the way there, but it'll get us close.

403
00:19:05,000 --> 00:19:07,000
So we've got awesome new data here.

404
00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:09,000
We've got a probable area.

405
00:19:09,000 --> 00:19:11,000
Now we need a real X.

406
00:19:11,000 --> 00:19:12,000
Yes.

407
00:19:12,000 --> 00:19:16,000
Fortunately, that X may already have revealed itself.

408
00:19:16,000 --> 00:19:23,000
Brent and Hoseway have been contacted by a park ranger who recently came across stones inside the target zone

409
00:19:23,000 --> 00:19:26,000
that he believes are man-made ruins.

410
00:19:26,000 --> 00:19:30,000
This could be a major break, but meeting him will be a journey in itself.

411
00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:40,000
We need to travel 120 miles through narco-traffic territory to the rangers' outpost on the edge of Montes Azules' Biosphere Reserve.

412
00:19:40,000 --> 00:19:46,000
But if this lead pans out, we might be able to locate the fabled lost city.

413
00:19:46,000 --> 00:19:51,000
Hoseway, why do they call Sac-Balam the white jaguar?

414
00:19:51,000 --> 00:19:57,000
Well, there is a myth from the Maya, which is in the end of the war,

415
00:19:57,000 --> 00:20:03,000
some white jaguars will come from the sky to eat all humanity.

416
00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:05,000
You talking about the apocalypse?

417
00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:06,000
That's right.

418
00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:08,000
Okay.

419
00:20:08,000 --> 00:20:12,000
I mean, you've got to admit it's a great name for a city for trying to keep people out.

420
00:20:12,000 --> 00:20:14,000
Right, a city at the end of the world.

421
00:20:14,000 --> 00:20:16,000
Wow.

422
00:20:17,000 --> 00:20:19,000
Two hours later, we enter the park.

423
00:20:19,000 --> 00:20:23,000
The rangers' station sits along a river further inside the reserve,

424
00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:27,000
and naturally, the hike begins with a challenge.

425
00:20:28,000 --> 00:20:30,000
Okay, well, that looks safe.

426
00:20:33,000 --> 00:20:35,000
Maximum capacity for people.

427
00:20:35,000 --> 00:20:37,000
What size people?

428
00:20:37,000 --> 00:20:39,000
What kind of people?

429
00:20:39,000 --> 00:20:41,000
I'm assuming not us.

430
00:20:41,000 --> 00:20:44,000
We're at least four and a half people right here, I feel like.

431
00:20:44,000 --> 00:20:45,000
Okay.

432
00:20:45,000 --> 00:20:47,000
What's the worst that could happen?

433
00:20:47,000 --> 00:20:50,000
We could fall to our deaths, I think is the worst that could happen?

434
00:20:50,000 --> 00:20:51,000
After you.

435
00:20:51,000 --> 00:20:53,000
So generous of you.

436
00:20:56,000 --> 00:20:59,000
Immediately sketchy.

437
00:21:02,000 --> 00:21:05,000
This is fine, these boards look great.

438
00:21:07,000 --> 00:21:10,000
Careful, that board's not great.

439
00:21:14,000 --> 00:21:16,000
Okay, okay.

440
00:21:22,000 --> 00:21:24,000
Okay.

441
00:21:25,000 --> 00:21:27,000
And we're alive.

442
00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:32,000
Safely across, we walk upriver and into another world.

443
00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:36,000
Look at this place.

444
00:21:36,000 --> 00:21:37,000
Woo!

445
00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:39,000
Wow!

446
00:21:39,000 --> 00:21:44,000
Finally, we descend down to meet the man who may have found the X on Don Diego's map,

447
00:21:44,000 --> 00:21:48,000
naturalist and ranger Efrain Guzman Gomez.

448
00:21:48,000 --> 00:21:49,000
Efrain.

449
00:21:49,000 --> 00:21:50,000
How are you?

450
00:21:50,000 --> 00:21:51,000
Hello.

451
00:21:51,000 --> 00:21:52,000
This is Josh.

452
00:21:52,000 --> 00:21:53,000
Josh.

453
00:21:53,000 --> 00:21:55,000
Hello, I'm good to meet you.

454
00:21:55,000 --> 00:21:56,000
Nice to meet you.

455
00:21:56,000 --> 00:21:59,000
So I understand that you saw something out in the jungle.

456
00:21:59,000 --> 00:22:01,000
What did he see?

457
00:22:01,000 --> 00:22:04,000
You saw something inside the jungle, exactly what did you see?

458
00:22:04,000 --> 00:22:06,000
Structures.

459
00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:09,000
There are structures made of shaped stone.

460
00:22:09,000 --> 00:22:11,000
Okay, ancient structures, old structures.

461
00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:13,000
Of the Mayans.

462
00:22:13,000 --> 00:22:15,000
There are many structures.

463
00:22:15,000 --> 00:22:17,000
I only saw a few.

464
00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:19,000
But it looked man-made.

465
00:22:19,000 --> 00:22:22,000
About how far is this site from right here?

466
00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:25,000
We're talking more or less 15 kilometers.

467
00:22:25,000 --> 00:22:27,000
Oh, 15 kilometers.

468
00:22:27,000 --> 00:22:30,000
15 kilometers as the crow flies through the jungle.

469
00:22:30,000 --> 00:22:32,000
Yeah, that's a long way.

470
00:22:32,000 --> 00:22:33,000
Yeah.

471
00:22:33,000 --> 00:22:34,000
Okay.

472
00:22:34,000 --> 00:22:36,000
Can you take us there?

473
00:22:36,000 --> 00:22:37,000
Of course.

474
00:22:37,000 --> 00:22:38,000
In the boat?

475
00:22:38,000 --> 00:22:39,000
Yes.

476
00:22:39,000 --> 00:22:40,000
The whole way?

477
00:22:40,000 --> 00:22:42,000
I'm not even going to ask.

478
00:22:42,000 --> 00:22:44,000
I'm not even going to ask.

479
00:22:44,000 --> 00:22:48,000
We can cut some of the distance to Efrain's find by traveling up river.

480
00:22:48,000 --> 00:22:52,000
He's leading us to his site where we'll camp while we investigate.

481
00:22:52,000 --> 00:23:00,000
We steam against the current as millions of gallons of jade-colored water flow from the far away highlands of Mexico.

482
00:23:03,000 --> 00:23:07,000
But while the views are stunning, it's not lost on any of us,

483
00:23:07,000 --> 00:23:12,000
that with each passing mile, the safety of civilization recedes further behind us.

484
00:23:12,000 --> 00:23:15,000
Luckily, we do have directions.

485
00:23:15,000 --> 00:23:18,000
So hypothetically, where are we on this map?

486
00:23:18,000 --> 00:23:21,000
We are way up this river.

487
00:23:21,000 --> 00:23:23,000
So this is the Lacantun River?

488
00:23:23,000 --> 00:23:24,000
Yes, the Lacantun River.

489
00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:26,000
And we're what, in like a tributary of that?

490
00:23:26,000 --> 00:23:27,000
Yeah, we're in one of the tributaries.

491
00:23:27,000 --> 00:23:28,000
It's called the Hatate.

492
00:23:28,000 --> 00:23:30,000
The Hatate River.

493
00:23:30,000 --> 00:23:31,000
Yeah, okay.

494
00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:38,000
We're moving along the same river system as Don Diego's map in the direction of the projected location of Saqbalam.

495
00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:42,000
So we're in a tributary of this river and we're headed upstream.

496
00:23:42,000 --> 00:23:43,000
Yes.

497
00:23:43,000 --> 00:23:46,000
So ultimately, this is getting us closer to your investigation zone, yes?

498
00:23:46,000 --> 00:23:47,000
Yes, in that point.

499
00:23:47,000 --> 00:23:48,000
Okay.

500
00:23:48,000 --> 00:23:50,000
And after that, we're on foot?

501
00:23:50,000 --> 00:23:51,000
Yes.

502
00:23:51,000 --> 00:23:54,000
And then we go straight to the X, right?

503
00:23:54,000 --> 00:23:55,000
Yeah.

504
00:23:55,000 --> 00:23:56,000
It's just that simple.

505
00:23:56,000 --> 00:23:58,000
Why hadn't I thought of that before?

506
00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:00,000
It should be home by dinner, I would think.

507
00:24:00,000 --> 00:24:07,000
To find Saqbalam, we have Don Diego's map and Efraín's memory, but we also have other clues.

508
00:24:07,000 --> 00:24:12,000
In detailed writings, Nicolas de Valenzuela, the Spaniard who conquered Saqbalam,

509
00:24:12,000 --> 00:24:17,000
described a number of distinguishing features to help us identify the city.

510
00:24:17,000 --> 00:24:24,000
He wrote that Saqbalam is in the northern part of a long, narrow valley surrounded by high ridges.

511
00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:29,000
Three large wood and thatched structures were set on platforms, atop mounds,

512
00:24:29,000 --> 00:24:32,000
with a hundred smaller house mounds nearby.

513
00:24:32,000 --> 00:24:35,000
All helpful if we can find them.

514
00:24:40,000 --> 00:24:41,000
Aki, this is us.

515
00:24:41,000 --> 00:24:42,000
Yes.

516
00:24:42,000 --> 00:24:43,000
All right.

517
00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:44,000
Okay.

518
00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:48,000
La Mapa, sí.

519
00:24:48,000 --> 00:24:49,000
Gracias.

520
00:24:49,000 --> 00:24:51,000
Don't want to lose this.

521
00:24:54,000 --> 00:24:55,000
All right.

522
00:24:55,000 --> 00:24:56,000
Run foot.

523
00:24:56,000 --> 00:24:57,000
Here we go.

524
00:25:08,000 --> 00:25:11,000
This is brutal.

525
00:25:11,000 --> 00:25:17,000
Deep in the jungles of southern Mexico, we're following a local ranger named Efraín Guzmán Gomez

526
00:25:17,000 --> 00:25:21,000
on an expedition to find the lost city of Saqbalam,

527
00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:25,000
which was conquered by Spanish conquistador Nicolas de Valenzuela.

528
00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:32,000
Finding the ruins would mean locating the last free Maya city in pre-Columbian Mexico.

529
00:25:32,000 --> 00:25:37,000
Okay, so we'll see how far away these structures are that Efraín's taking us to.

530
00:25:37,000 --> 00:25:43,000
But in terms of the historical sources, does Valenzuela tell us how far the hike is from the river to Saqbalam?

531
00:25:43,000 --> 00:25:46,000
He says that the river is about a league and a half from Saqbalam.

532
00:25:46,000 --> 00:25:47,000
A league and a half.

533
00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:48,000
It's Jules Verne.

534
00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:49,000
What the hell?

535
00:25:49,000 --> 00:25:50,000
How far is a league?

536
00:25:50,000 --> 00:25:51,000
A league is about two miles.

537
00:25:51,000 --> 00:25:52,000
Three miles.

538
00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:55,000
So we've got a four and a half mile trek here.

539
00:25:55,000 --> 00:26:00,000
That's also assuming that we parked our boat right at the closest spot.

540
00:26:00,000 --> 00:26:04,000
And just so I know, what's going to kill me in this jungle?

541
00:26:04,000 --> 00:26:06,000
Okay, so we've got lots of venomous snakes.

542
00:26:06,000 --> 00:26:08,000
Fertilances, things like that?

543
00:26:08,000 --> 00:26:11,000
Oh yeah, Fertilance, corals, and pit-fifers.

544
00:26:11,000 --> 00:26:14,000
Also jaguars and panthers.

545
00:26:14,000 --> 00:26:15,000
Okay, great.

546
00:26:15,000 --> 00:26:16,000
I love the jaguars.

547
00:26:16,000 --> 00:26:18,000
There's a lot of jaguars.

548
00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:20,000
I mean, this is the city of the white jaguar.

549
00:26:20,000 --> 00:26:21,000
Sure, fair enough.

550
00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:23,000
At least we're out of narco territory, yes?

551
00:26:23,000 --> 00:26:26,000
So there are clandestine airstrips all over this park.

552
00:26:26,000 --> 00:26:27,000
In the national park?

553
00:26:27,000 --> 00:26:28,000
Oh yeah.

554
00:26:28,000 --> 00:26:30,000
Okay, I'm sorry I asked.

555
00:26:30,000 --> 00:26:38,000
Also, tropical diseases, killer bees, enough rent, angry packs of peckery pigs.

556
00:26:38,000 --> 00:26:39,000
Good lord.

557
00:26:49,000 --> 00:26:51,000
Hiking here is super challenging.

558
00:26:51,000 --> 00:26:54,000
Not just because the trail is so uneven, but because there are trees here,

559
00:26:54,000 --> 00:26:57,000
you definitely do not want to touch.

560
00:26:59,000 --> 00:27:00,000
Very painful.

561
00:27:19,000 --> 00:27:20,000
Hey Josh.

562
00:27:20,000 --> 00:27:21,000
Yeah?

563
00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:23,000
You might want to roll your sleeves down.

564
00:27:23,000 --> 00:27:24,000
Why is that?

565
00:27:24,000 --> 00:27:27,000
These are plants that I call tears of sadness.

566
00:27:27,000 --> 00:27:29,000
Does that mean they're poisonous?

567
00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:31,000
Oh yeah, I mean, you're going to be itching for weeks.

568
00:27:31,000 --> 00:27:33,000
Oh god.

569
00:27:33,000 --> 00:27:39,000
We navigate past the sadness and then move up a slope covered in non-poisonous plants

570
00:27:39,000 --> 00:27:42,000
that instead are just trying to strangle us.

571
00:27:43,000 --> 00:27:49,000
We swing away for hours, but the foliage is so thick that we're making slow progress.

572
00:27:49,000 --> 00:27:53,000
I mean, there's not even a hint of a trail in here.

573
00:27:53,000 --> 00:27:56,000
Now it's just jungle.

574
00:27:59,000 --> 00:28:03,000
Eventually though, the vines thin out to let us pass,

575
00:28:03,000 --> 00:28:07,000
and we emerge into a clearing that causes Brent to stop in his tracks.

576
00:28:09,000 --> 00:28:10,000
Josh.

577
00:28:10,000 --> 00:28:13,000
Take a look at this valley.

578
00:28:13,000 --> 00:28:18,000
Remember I told you that de Valenzuela said that Sac Palame was a long, narrow valley

579
00:28:18,000 --> 00:28:21,000
in the northern part surrounded by ridges.

580
00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:22,000
Right.

581
00:28:22,000 --> 00:28:25,000
He even described a nice breeze, which we can feel right now,

582
00:28:25,000 --> 00:28:28,000
and we are at the very northern edge of this valley right now.

583
00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:29,000
Yeah.

584
00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:30,000
Right?

585
00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:31,000
And we're about how far from the river?

586
00:28:31,000 --> 00:28:32,000
It's over a league.

587
00:28:32,000 --> 00:28:35,000
So this valley matches that description to a T.

588
00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:37,000
To a T?

589
00:28:37,000 --> 00:28:43,000
So if this is the right location, then somewhere up there underneath all that jungle canopy,

590
00:28:43,000 --> 00:28:45,000
there might be a lost city.

591
00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:47,000
We might be on the outskirts right now.

592
00:28:47,000 --> 00:28:48,000
Okay.

593
00:28:48,000 --> 00:28:50,000
Well, now we're just going to find it.

594
00:28:50,000 --> 00:28:51,000
All right.

595
00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:52,000
Let's.

596
00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:53,000
All right.

597
00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:54,000
Machetes of the ready.

598
00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:55,000
Here we go.

599
00:28:55,000 --> 00:28:56,000
All right.

600
00:28:58,000 --> 00:29:04,000
Efraín leads us even further toward the area where he saw evidence of manmade structures.

601
00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:08,000
But if Sac Palame is here, it's well camouflaged.

602
00:29:08,000 --> 00:29:10,000
And so is the wildlife.

603
00:29:10,000 --> 00:29:16,000
In the jungle, you got to be careful what you touch because even the sticks are alive.

604
00:29:20,000 --> 00:29:22,000
There you go.

605
00:29:22,000 --> 00:29:24,000
Blend back into the jungle.

606
00:29:24,000 --> 00:29:38,000
We continue deeper into the humid rainforest and deeper and deeper.

607
00:29:38,000 --> 00:29:44,000
And just as I'm about to lay down and expire, I hear words that are music to my ears.

608
00:29:44,000 --> 00:29:46,000
Structure.

609
00:29:46,000 --> 00:29:48,000
Hey, structure.

610
00:29:48,000 --> 00:29:50,000
Hey, oh, look at this.

611
00:29:50,000 --> 00:29:51,000
Oh, my word.

612
00:29:51,000 --> 00:29:52,000
Wow.

613
00:29:52,000 --> 00:29:53,000
Wow.

614
00:29:53,000 --> 00:29:54,000
Look at the stones.

615
00:29:54,000 --> 00:29:55,000
Look at this.

616
00:29:55,000 --> 00:29:56,000
Yes.

617
00:29:56,000 --> 00:29:57,000
Amazing.

618
00:29:57,000 --> 00:29:58,000
This is not natural.

619
00:29:58,000 --> 00:29:59,000
Look at how squared off that is.

620
00:29:59,000 --> 00:30:01,000
Look at how this line extends all the way down there.

621
00:30:01,000 --> 00:30:02,000
You'll get this more right there.

622
00:30:02,000 --> 00:30:03,000
Yeah.

623
00:30:03,000 --> 00:30:04,000
This is a platform.

624
00:30:04,000 --> 00:30:05,000
We're on a platform.

625
00:30:05,000 --> 00:30:06,000
Yeah.

626
00:30:06,000 --> 00:30:07,000
On a platform.

627
00:30:07,000 --> 00:30:08,000
Hey, amazing.

628
00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:10,000
This is a platform.

629
00:30:10,000 --> 00:30:15,000
To conquer the unforgiving jungle terrain, the Maya had to create level ground.

630
00:30:15,000 --> 00:30:21,000
Stone platforms like this were the foundations for single and multifamily homes made of wood and

631
00:30:21,000 --> 00:30:22,000
a patch.

632
00:30:22,000 --> 00:30:27,000
Valenzuela, when he wrote his report, he actually said that there were about 100 small house

633
00:30:27,000 --> 00:30:28,000
mountains just like this.

634
00:30:28,000 --> 00:30:30,000
This might be one of them.

635
00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:32,000
Should we try and clear this off?

636
00:30:32,000 --> 00:30:33,000
Let's do it.

637
00:30:33,000 --> 00:30:34,000
OK.

638
00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:35,000
Let's see what else is under here, guys.

639
00:30:35,000 --> 00:30:36,000
All right.

640
00:30:36,000 --> 00:30:37,000
These pieces are big.

641
00:30:37,000 --> 00:30:38,000
Look at this.

642
00:30:38,000 --> 00:30:39,000
Yeah.

643
00:30:39,000 --> 00:30:40,000
Yeah.

644
00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:41,000
Yeah.

645
00:30:41,000 --> 00:30:42,000
Yeah.

646
00:30:42,000 --> 00:30:43,000
Yeah.

647
00:30:43,000 --> 00:30:44,000
Yeah.

648
00:30:44,000 --> 00:30:45,000
Yeah.

649
00:30:45,000 --> 00:30:46,000
Yeah.

650
00:30:46,000 --> 00:30:47,000
Yeah.

651
00:30:47,000 --> 00:30:48,000
Yeah.

652
00:30:48,000 --> 00:30:49,000
Yeah.

653
00:30:49,000 --> 00:30:50,000
Yeah.

654
00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:54,000
The ground is full of beautiful, man-made, right angles.

655
00:30:54,000 --> 00:30:59,000
It's just perfectly square.

656
00:30:59,000 --> 00:31:00,000
Look at this.

657
00:31:00,000 --> 00:31:01,000
More stone under here.

658
00:31:01,000 --> 00:31:02,000
Wow.

659
00:31:02,000 --> 00:31:05,000
You could just see stone peeking out everywhere on the jungle floor.

660
00:31:05,000 --> 00:31:06,000
There's a lot more here.

661
00:31:06,000 --> 00:31:07,000
Yeah.

662
00:31:07,000 --> 00:31:08,000
For sure.

663
00:31:08,000 --> 00:31:11,000
The structures that these stones supported for now are a mystery.

664
00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:16,000
But the good news is that where there's one building platform, there should be more.

665
00:31:20,000 --> 00:31:26,000
We ascend further up the hill at the end of the narrow valley, and soon see something

666
00:31:26,000 --> 00:31:28,000
that shouldn't be here.

667
00:31:28,000 --> 00:31:32,000
Hey, stone, right there.

668
00:31:32,000 --> 00:31:33,000
Yes.

669
00:31:33,000 --> 00:31:34,000
Is that man-made?

670
00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:35,000
Let's see.

671
00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:36,000
Look at that.

672
00:31:36,000 --> 00:31:37,000
Wow.

673
00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:38,000
Oh, yeah.

674
00:31:38,000 --> 00:31:39,000
These are some cut stones.

675
00:31:39,000 --> 00:31:40,000
That's a cut stone for sure.

676
00:31:40,000 --> 00:31:41,000
Oh, yeah.

677
00:31:41,000 --> 00:31:46,000
There's a natural outcrop down here, but these are definitely cut stones.

678
00:31:46,000 --> 00:31:47,000
So what is this?

679
00:31:47,000 --> 00:31:49,000
We're on a huge slope here.

680
00:31:49,000 --> 00:31:50,000
This is a watchtower.

681
00:31:50,000 --> 00:31:51,000
This is a watchtower?

682
00:31:51,000 --> 00:31:52,000
Yes.

683
00:31:52,000 --> 00:31:58,000
At Sockbalam, watchtowers like this might have ringed the entire city, which may have also

684
00:31:58,000 --> 00:32:00,000
helped to keep them hidden.

685
00:32:00,000 --> 00:32:05,000
The presence of a defensive structure here may be a sign that we're close to an important settlement.

686
00:32:05,000 --> 00:32:07,000
You can see through the trees.

687
00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:10,000
We've got a great view of a huge chunk of the valley here.

688
00:32:10,000 --> 00:32:11,000
Right.

689
00:32:11,000 --> 00:32:14,000
We're almost at the edge of this ridge here, and you can see everything here.

690
00:32:14,000 --> 00:32:16,000
Would there have been multiple watchtowers here?

691
00:32:16,000 --> 00:32:17,000
Yes, of course.

692
00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:21,000
The mayas put fire to communicate with another area.

693
00:32:21,000 --> 00:32:23,000
Like Lord of the Rings?

694
00:32:23,000 --> 00:32:24,000
Yeah, right?

695
00:32:24,000 --> 00:32:26,000
If somebody sees something in a one-watch tower, they light a signal.

696
00:32:26,000 --> 00:32:27,000
Yes.

697
00:32:27,000 --> 00:32:30,000
Somebody else lights a signal, and that's how you alert the perimeter.

698
00:32:30,000 --> 00:32:31,000
Yeah.

699
00:32:31,000 --> 00:32:33,000
We're looking for Sockbalam, and we found Gondor.

700
00:32:33,000 --> 00:32:34,000
That's right.

701
00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:35,000
That's incredible, though.

702
00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:39,000
The people of Sockbalam managed to evade the Spanish for over 100 years.

703
00:32:39,000 --> 00:32:43,000
They pulled out all the stops coming up with any defensive measures they could think of.

704
00:32:43,000 --> 00:32:45,000
So this would make sense.

705
00:32:45,000 --> 00:32:47,000
All right, let's keep moving. Come on.

706
00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:48,000
All right.

707
00:32:48,000 --> 00:32:50,000
We've got better and better.

708
00:32:50,000 --> 00:32:54,000
We trudge further uphill to see if there's more to find.

709
00:33:04,000 --> 00:33:05,000
This looks like more stone here.

710
00:33:05,000 --> 00:33:06,000
Is there something here?

711
00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:07,000
Yeah, for sure.

712
00:33:07,000 --> 00:33:08,000
Something here.

713
00:33:08,000 --> 00:33:09,000
Let's see.

714
00:33:09,000 --> 00:33:11,000
Is it natural or...?

715
00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:12,000
I don't think so.

716
00:33:12,000 --> 00:33:13,000
Oh, look at this!

717
00:33:13,000 --> 00:33:14,000
It's so tuned!

718
00:33:14,000 --> 00:33:15,000
This is incredible!

719
00:33:15,000 --> 00:33:16,000
This is tuned!

720
00:33:16,000 --> 00:33:17,000
Yeah, yes!

721
00:33:25,000 --> 00:33:26,000
There is something here?

722
00:33:26,000 --> 00:33:27,000
Yeah, for sure.

723
00:33:27,000 --> 00:33:28,000
Oh, look at this!

724
00:33:28,000 --> 00:33:29,000
This is tuned!

725
00:33:29,000 --> 00:33:30,000
This is tuned!

726
00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:31,000
Yes!

727
00:33:31,000 --> 00:33:32,000
Wow!

728
00:33:32,000 --> 00:33:35,000
This is all stone lined here, and it's just scalloped out.

729
00:33:35,000 --> 00:33:36,000
This is looted.

730
00:33:36,000 --> 00:33:37,000
Definitely.

731
00:33:37,000 --> 00:33:38,000
Yes.

732
00:33:38,000 --> 00:33:39,000
Tune, for sure.

733
00:33:39,000 --> 00:33:40,000
Tune.

734
00:33:40,000 --> 00:33:43,960
On a trek with archaeologists Brent Woodville and Josue Lesada, we're hunting for the

735
00:33:43,960 --> 00:33:48,240
ruins of the city of the white jaguar, Sac-Balaam.

736
00:33:48,240 --> 00:33:53,960
We found a tomb that may once have held precious Maya offerings or ceremonial jewelry.

737
00:33:53,960 --> 00:33:55,960
We're not the first ones here.

738
00:33:55,960 --> 00:33:57,960
Unfortunately not.

739
00:33:57,960 --> 00:33:58,960
Archaeologists really never are.

740
00:33:58,960 --> 00:33:59,960
Right.

741
00:33:59,960 --> 00:34:00,960
These are living landscapes.

742
00:34:00,960 --> 00:34:04,960
People come here and hunt and pass through and have for hundreds of years.

743
00:34:04,960 --> 00:34:10,660
A stone lined Maya tomb, even a looted one, is a remarkable find, and one that leads us

744
00:34:10,660 --> 00:34:12,960
to start considering other possibilities.

745
00:34:12,960 --> 00:34:16,960
At this point, there's a lot of architecture out here.

746
00:34:16,960 --> 00:34:20,960
There is no question that there is a community of people out here.

747
00:34:20,960 --> 00:34:21,960
No question at all.

748
00:34:21,960 --> 00:34:27,960
So in terms of our Sac-Balaam checklist here, we now have a lot going for us, right?

749
00:34:27,960 --> 00:34:30,960
Everything we've seen so far fits the bill 100%.

750
00:34:30,960 --> 00:34:31,960
So now what?

751
00:34:31,960 --> 00:34:34,960
So now I think it's time to call in some help.

752
00:34:34,960 --> 00:34:35,960
You're feeling that good about it?

753
00:34:35,960 --> 00:34:38,960
I'm feeling better and better about the fact that this could be the place.

754
00:34:38,960 --> 00:34:39,960
And you?

755
00:34:39,960 --> 00:34:40,960
Absolutely.

756
00:34:40,960 --> 00:34:41,960
You are?

757
00:34:41,960 --> 00:34:42,960
Yes.

758
00:34:42,960 --> 00:34:44,960
So I already have a team doing work over in San Cristal.

759
00:34:44,960 --> 00:34:46,960
They have a ladder scanner.

760
00:34:46,960 --> 00:34:50,960
There's also a great archaeologist who specializes in this time period.

761
00:34:50,960 --> 00:34:53,960
Some of Afro-Aryans guys could bring them out tomorrow.

762
00:34:53,960 --> 00:34:54,960
That'd be amazing.

763
00:34:54,960 --> 00:34:56,960
And as for us, what's our move?

764
00:34:56,960 --> 00:35:00,960
We need to find some flat ground to come for tonight.

765
00:35:00,960 --> 00:35:01,960
Flat ground?

766
00:35:01,960 --> 00:35:02,960
Yeah.

767
00:35:02,960 --> 00:35:03,960
I haven't seen that in a while.

768
00:35:03,960 --> 00:35:04,960
Yeah, good luck.

769
00:35:04,960 --> 00:35:05,960
Good luck.

770
00:35:05,960 --> 00:35:12,960
We fan out to find a level campsite, feeling like we're on the verge of completing Don Diego's map.

771
00:35:12,960 --> 00:35:18,960
But with any wood and thatched structures long since decayed, Brent and Josue can't be sure

772
00:35:18,960 --> 00:35:25,960
until an aerial lidar scan confirms the extent of the settlement by looking for more stone platforms.

773
00:35:30,960 --> 00:35:32,960
This is a good place to camp.

774
00:35:32,960 --> 00:35:33,960
This is pretty flat.

775
00:35:33,960 --> 00:35:35,960
This is a good place to camp.

776
00:35:35,960 --> 00:35:36,960
Is this our spot?

777
00:35:36,960 --> 00:35:37,960
This is our spot.

778
00:35:37,960 --> 00:35:38,960
Okay, let's do it.

779
00:35:38,960 --> 00:35:39,960
Cool.

780
00:35:39,960 --> 00:35:45,960
After we find a clearing, Brent calls in our GPS position with a sat phone so his lidar team can find us.

781
00:35:45,960 --> 00:35:48,960
And we set up camp for a night in the jungle.

782
00:35:56,960 --> 00:35:57,960
All right.

783
00:35:57,960 --> 00:35:59,960
Home sweet home.

784
00:36:03,960 --> 00:36:04,960
All right.

785
00:36:04,960 --> 00:36:06,960
Time to sleep.

786
00:36:18,960 --> 00:36:19,960
Mmm.

787
00:36:20,960 --> 00:36:22,960
Just another beautiful...

788
00:36:24,960 --> 00:36:27,960
Needless to say, I do not sleep in.

789
00:36:27,960 --> 00:36:33,960
Instead, we explore around the campsite and by early afternoon, we hear a welcome sound.

790
00:36:33,960 --> 00:36:34,960
Other humans.

791
00:36:36,960 --> 00:36:37,960
We got voices.

792
00:36:37,960 --> 00:36:42,960
Brent and Josue's lidar team has been hiking since before dawn to get here.

793
00:36:42,960 --> 00:36:43,960
Hey, how's it going, Nick?

794
00:36:43,960 --> 00:36:44,960
Hey, man, I'm Josh.

795
00:36:44,960 --> 00:36:45,960
Hi, Josh.

796
00:36:45,960 --> 00:36:46,960
Nice to meet you.

797
00:36:46,960 --> 00:36:49,960
Yeah, so this is the rest of the team that was over in San Cristobal.

798
00:36:49,960 --> 00:36:51,960
This is Nick and his crew from Juniper Unmanned.

799
00:36:51,960 --> 00:36:53,960
You guys are here to do the aerial scanning, yeah?

800
00:36:53,960 --> 00:36:54,960
Yes.

801
00:36:54,960 --> 00:36:55,960
Great.

802
00:36:55,960 --> 00:36:56,960
And these are the archaeologists working with me.

803
00:36:56,960 --> 00:36:58,960
This is Yuko and Ruben.

804
00:36:58,960 --> 00:36:59,960
Nice to meet both of you.

805
00:36:59,960 --> 00:37:01,960
So now that we're all here, what's planned?

806
00:37:01,960 --> 00:37:04,960
Yuko and Ruben are going to start digging some test pits.

807
00:37:04,960 --> 00:37:05,960
Okay.

808
00:37:05,960 --> 00:37:07,960
Just small little pits, seeing if we can hit anything.

809
00:37:07,960 --> 00:37:10,960
Should we get an idea of dates and times and people?

810
00:37:10,960 --> 00:37:11,960
Got it.

811
00:37:11,960 --> 00:37:14,960
And the lidar folks are going to start doing their thing.

812
00:37:14,960 --> 00:37:24,960
While the archaeologists begin excavating in this area, I walk to a small clearing with the lidar team as they set up to scan the valley.

813
00:37:24,960 --> 00:37:25,960
All right.

814
00:37:25,960 --> 00:37:27,960
So if you could talk to me, obviously this is a drone.

815
00:37:27,960 --> 00:37:28,960
What is this bad boy?

816
00:37:28,960 --> 00:37:31,960
This is a multi-rotor hexacopter made to carry heavy payloads.

817
00:37:31,960 --> 00:37:35,960
And in this case, the heavy payload is this black and yellow unit here.

818
00:37:35,960 --> 00:37:36,960
That's lidar?

819
00:37:36,960 --> 00:37:37,960
Yes, sir.

820
00:37:37,960 --> 00:37:38,960
That's the lidar unit.

821
00:37:38,960 --> 00:37:39,960
Okay.

822
00:37:39,960 --> 00:37:41,960
And lidar is obviously magic.

823
00:37:41,960 --> 00:37:42,960
Yeah.

824
00:37:42,960 --> 00:37:44,960
So lidar stands for light detection and ranging.

825
00:37:44,960 --> 00:37:45,960
Or magic.

826
00:37:45,960 --> 00:37:48,960
Magic, yeah.

827
00:37:48,960 --> 00:37:52,960
Aerial lidar sends millions of laser pulses to the ground.

828
00:37:52,960 --> 00:38:01,960
And measures the distance to fractions of a millimeter, allowing scientists to digitally peel away layers of foliage that have been growing for centuries.

829
00:38:01,960 --> 00:38:07,960
Foliage that may be obscuring ancient structures, rendering them invisible to the naked eye.

830
00:38:07,960 --> 00:38:12,960
In our case, we're hoping the lidar can show us the full extent of this settlement.

831
00:38:12,960 --> 00:38:15,960
And if it's large enough to be socked by long.

832
00:38:15,960 --> 00:38:16,960
So what do we want to see more of?

833
00:38:16,960 --> 00:38:17,960
Everything.

834
00:38:17,960 --> 00:38:21,960
It's really hard to see anything here, as I'm sure you've seen for walking around.

835
00:38:21,960 --> 00:38:29,960
What we know from Debalansuela is that he talked about three larger mounds in the center of the site where there are communal architecture.

836
00:38:29,960 --> 00:38:30,960
Got it.

837
00:38:30,960 --> 00:38:32,960
But they're all made of wood with thatch roofs.

838
00:38:32,960 --> 00:38:33,960
Right.

839
00:38:33,960 --> 00:38:37,960
So all we're really going to see is probably structures about this high.

840
00:38:37,960 --> 00:38:39,960
Maybe some a little bit higher, maybe some even lower.

841
00:38:39,960 --> 00:38:40,960
Right.

842
00:38:40,960 --> 00:38:42,960
But those are really hard to find.

843
00:38:42,960 --> 00:38:46,960
We can walk right next to a mound and not even know it's there.

844
00:38:46,960 --> 00:38:47,960
Right.

845
00:38:48,960 --> 00:38:52,960
With our air game covered, it's time to see what else is on the ground.

846
00:38:52,960 --> 00:38:57,960
And it so happens that Yuko and Ruben are making discoveries in the test pits.

847
00:38:57,960 --> 00:38:58,960
Look at this.

848
00:38:58,960 --> 00:39:00,960
So this is flat limestone.

849
00:39:00,960 --> 00:39:03,960
It's really nicely cut and shaped.

850
00:39:03,960 --> 00:39:04,960
This is crazy.

851
00:39:04,960 --> 00:39:06,960
This looks like a modern floor tile.

852
00:39:06,960 --> 00:39:08,960
So no question this is a cut piece, right?

853
00:39:08,960 --> 00:39:10,960
So this was primarily used for what?

854
00:39:10,960 --> 00:39:11,960
Floor surfaces?

855
00:39:11,960 --> 00:39:13,960
Floor surfaces on the also the wall facade.

856
00:39:13,960 --> 00:39:15,960
This is like a facing stone.

857
00:39:15,960 --> 00:39:16,960
So should we go a little deeper?

858
00:39:16,960 --> 00:39:17,960
See what's there?

859
00:39:17,960 --> 00:39:18,960
Yeah, I'd like to see the edge of the stone.

860
00:39:18,960 --> 00:39:19,960
Okay, great.

861
00:39:19,960 --> 00:39:20,960
Let's dig.

862
00:39:20,960 --> 00:39:25,960
Quarried limestone was quite literally the building block with which the Maya created

863
00:39:25,960 --> 00:39:26,960
their cities.

864
00:39:26,960 --> 00:39:30,960
To find it here is to see the Maya's hands at work.

865
00:39:30,960 --> 00:39:31,960
Look at this.

866
00:39:31,960 --> 00:39:32,960
Oh, is that pottery?

867
00:39:32,960 --> 00:39:33,960
Look at this.

868
00:39:33,960 --> 00:39:39,960
We've seen all this evidence of stone working up here, but now we've got pottery.

869
00:39:39,960 --> 00:39:40,960
So Yuko, you're the expert.

870
00:39:40,960 --> 00:39:41,960
What can you tell us about that?

871
00:39:41,960 --> 00:39:43,960
Looks like a red slip on it.

872
00:39:43,960 --> 00:39:46,960
Okay, red slip is like the coating or the surface decoration?

873
00:39:46,960 --> 00:39:47,960
Yeah, surface coating.

874
00:39:47,960 --> 00:39:48,960
Okay.

875
00:39:48,960 --> 00:39:52,960
Got the orange paste color and then some calcite temper.

876
00:39:52,960 --> 00:39:54,960
So dating wise, we think this is from when?

877
00:39:54,960 --> 00:39:55,960
The post-classic period.

878
00:39:55,960 --> 00:39:56,960
You think it's post-classic?

879
00:39:56,960 --> 00:39:57,960
Yeah.

880
00:39:57,960 --> 00:40:00,960
So this is what they would have been making at Sockballon up until that period.

881
00:40:00,960 --> 00:40:01,960
Yeah, that had been conquered yet.

882
00:40:01,960 --> 00:40:03,960
So they're still in the post-classic.

883
00:40:03,960 --> 00:40:04,960
Awesome.

884
00:40:04,960 --> 00:40:05,960
Okay, let's see if there's more.

885
00:40:05,960 --> 00:40:17,960
We've got limestone, we've got pottery, and soon enough, we have something even more

886
00:40:17,960 --> 00:40:18,960
special.

887
00:40:18,960 --> 00:40:19,960
Hey, what's that?

888
00:40:19,960 --> 00:40:21,960
Well, hey, yeah.

889
00:40:21,960 --> 00:40:22,960
Obsidian.

890
00:40:22,960 --> 00:40:23,960
Obsidian.

891
00:40:23,960 --> 00:40:26,460
It's a very, very tiny blade.

892
00:40:26,460 --> 00:40:28,960
We're really far away from any obsidian source.

893
00:40:28,960 --> 00:40:30,960
So this was a very precious commodity.

894
00:40:30,960 --> 00:40:33,960
So obsidian really is like the steel of Mesoamerica, right?

895
00:40:33,960 --> 00:40:36,960
I mean, this is what you're making your cutting implements out of.

896
00:40:36,960 --> 00:40:42,960
Obsidian is a type of brittle volcanic glass that was crafted by Mesoamericans into both

897
00:40:42,960 --> 00:40:45,960
household tools and lethal weapons.

898
00:40:45,960 --> 00:40:50,960
Its presence here, far from the volcanoes to the south, may bolster the idea that this

899
00:40:50,960 --> 00:40:53,960
place was a haven for fleeing Maya.

900
00:40:53,960 --> 00:40:57,960
You look at this and you think, oh, this is nothing, this is just a tiny thing, but this

901
00:40:57,960 --> 00:41:00,960
really is a razor-sharp implement.

902
00:41:00,960 --> 00:41:02,960
Oh yeah, be careful with it.

903
00:41:02,960 --> 00:41:04,960
That is incredible.

904
00:41:04,960 --> 00:41:09,960
So from a mine somewhere in Guatemala to the middle of the jungle in Mexico.

905
00:41:09,960 --> 00:41:10,960
Yeah, wow.

906
00:41:10,960 --> 00:41:13,960
That's a little piece of a Maya knife right there.

907
00:41:13,960 --> 00:41:16,960
I'm becoming more and more convinced that this is the place.

908
00:41:16,960 --> 00:41:20,960
Yeah, we have a lot of good circumstantial evidence at this point.

909
00:41:20,960 --> 00:41:22,960
It's all going to come down to the Lidar.

910
00:41:22,960 --> 00:41:25,960
That's the only way we're going to see this place in its entirety.

911
00:41:25,960 --> 00:41:26,960
Yeah.

912
00:41:33,960 --> 00:41:34,960
Beautiful.

913
00:41:34,960 --> 00:41:35,960
Awesome.

914
00:41:35,960 --> 00:41:36,960
Nice work, man.

915
00:41:36,960 --> 00:41:38,960
Yeah, good flying.

916
00:41:38,960 --> 00:41:44,960
The Lidar drone touches down, and then we gather around a nearby computer to analyze its results.

917
00:41:44,960 --> 00:41:48,960
Okay, so do we have data?

918
00:41:48,960 --> 00:41:49,960
Yes, we have lots of data.

919
00:41:49,960 --> 00:41:50,960
Do we have good data?

920
00:41:50,960 --> 00:41:51,960
Yeah, it's great.

921
00:41:51,960 --> 00:41:52,960
I like great.

922
00:41:52,960 --> 00:41:53,960
Let's take a look at it.

923
00:41:53,960 --> 00:41:54,960
What do we got?

924
00:41:54,960 --> 00:41:55,960
Fantastic.

925
00:41:55,960 --> 00:41:59,960
All right, so what we're looking at right here is about 200,000 people.

926
00:41:59,960 --> 00:42:04,960
All right, so what we're looking at right here is about two square kilometers of this valley.

927
00:42:04,960 --> 00:42:07,960
Brent is literally smiling ear to ear already.

928
00:42:07,960 --> 00:42:09,960
It would take us months to machete through all that.

929
00:42:09,960 --> 00:42:12,960
And how much data are we looking at here, visualized?

930
00:42:12,960 --> 00:42:15,960
Around 500 million points covering the entire valley.

931
00:42:15,960 --> 00:42:16,960
500 million?

932
00:42:16,960 --> 00:42:17,960
Wow.

933
00:42:17,960 --> 00:42:19,960
Half a billion data points.

934
00:42:19,960 --> 00:42:22,960
Yeah, we have our canopy here, and now I'm going to strip that away.

935
00:42:24,960 --> 00:42:25,960
Look at this!

936
00:42:25,960 --> 00:42:26,960
Wow.

937
00:42:30,960 --> 00:42:37,960
After a long day of trekking in the Mexican jungle, we gather around the campfire hoping to relax.

938
00:42:37,960 --> 00:42:39,960
Well, first of all, cheers.

939
00:42:39,960 --> 00:42:40,960
Cheers.

940
00:42:40,960 --> 00:42:45,960
I have to say, even though I'm exhausted, I feel thrilled because of where we might be sitting.

941
00:42:45,960 --> 00:42:53,960
If this is Saqbalam, then just over 300 years ago, there would have been hundreds of Maya people right in these jungles, right here.

942
00:42:53,960 --> 00:43:00,960
If this is where we think it is, this is one of the last holdouts of free indigenous people anywhere in the Americas.

943
00:43:05,960 --> 00:43:06,960
Hollermunkey?

944
00:43:06,960 --> 00:43:07,960
Yeah.

945
00:43:07,960 --> 00:43:08,960
Yes.

946
00:43:08,960 --> 00:43:09,960
Or King Kong just got out.

947
00:43:09,960 --> 00:43:11,960
Hollermunkeys are like this big, right?

948
00:43:11,960 --> 00:43:12,960
Oh yeah, they're tiny.

949
00:43:12,960 --> 00:43:14,960
They're buff, but they're tiny.

950
00:43:14,960 --> 00:43:15,960
But they sound like that.

951
00:43:15,960 --> 00:43:21,960
Yeah, I heard that they actually have bones in their larynx, so you can hear them three miles away at the winds right.

952
00:43:21,960 --> 00:43:22,960
Terrific.

953
00:43:22,960 --> 00:43:23,960
Terrific.

954
00:43:23,960 --> 00:43:24,960
Terrific.

955
00:43:30,960 --> 00:43:31,960
This is incredible.

956
00:43:31,960 --> 00:43:36,960
Look at all the geography that you can see that you totally can't detect under that canopy.

957
00:43:36,960 --> 00:43:37,960
Oh, that's amazing.

958
00:43:37,960 --> 00:43:46,960
In the jungles of Chiapas, Mexico, we're examining the lidar data of a site we believe could be the legendary Maya city of Saqbalam.

959
00:43:46,960 --> 00:43:49,960
Question is, did you find structures?

960
00:43:49,960 --> 00:43:50,960
Yes, yes, we did.

961
00:43:50,960 --> 00:43:51,960
Yes?

962
00:43:51,960 --> 00:43:52,960
Yeah.

963
00:43:52,960 --> 00:43:53,960
Show us where.

964
00:43:53,960 --> 00:43:57,960
On the valley floor, we found some mound structures.

965
00:43:57,960 --> 00:43:58,960
Look at these.

966
00:43:58,960 --> 00:44:00,960
These are foundation mounds.

967
00:44:00,960 --> 00:44:02,960
Brent, does this look like where a house would be built?

968
00:44:02,960 --> 00:44:03,960
Definitely.

969
00:44:03,960 --> 00:44:05,960
About how big are they?

970
00:44:05,960 --> 00:44:07,960
They're approximately seven meters by seven meters.

971
00:44:07,960 --> 00:44:09,960
These are the perfect size for a Maya house.

972
00:44:09,960 --> 00:44:11,960
That's incredible.

973
00:44:11,960 --> 00:44:13,960
These are most likely foundations for houses.

974
00:44:13,960 --> 00:44:14,960
Definitely.

975
00:44:14,960 --> 00:44:15,960
So people are living here.

976
00:44:15,960 --> 00:44:16,960
People are living here.

977
00:44:16,960 --> 00:44:18,960
This is awesome.

978
00:44:18,960 --> 00:44:20,960
Did you find any other structures?

979
00:44:20,960 --> 00:44:22,960
Oh yeah, we found more along the ridges.

980
00:44:22,960 --> 00:44:23,960
Really?

981
00:44:23,960 --> 00:44:24,960
What's on the ridge?

982
00:44:24,960 --> 00:44:27,960
Up on the ridge, we found these rectangular structures.

983
00:44:27,960 --> 00:44:28,960
Look at that.

984
00:44:28,960 --> 00:44:29,960
Wow.

985
00:44:29,960 --> 00:44:34,960
Sitting right at the top of the ridge that would lead me to believe they were muridores or lookouts.

986
00:44:34,960 --> 00:44:37,960
Which we think we found in the jungle, one of these watch tower structures.

987
00:44:37,960 --> 00:44:39,960
Watch tower, right?

988
00:44:39,960 --> 00:44:41,960
It's approximately 10 meters by 10 meters.

989
00:44:41,960 --> 00:44:47,960
Sitting right at the top of the ridge, it allows them a full view of the valley from the north to the south end.

990
00:44:47,960 --> 00:44:52,960
As we go farther south along the ridge, we found more groupings of these rectangular shapes.

991
00:44:52,960 --> 00:44:56,960
Small platforms just raised above the ridge.

992
00:44:56,960 --> 00:45:01,960
This shows us that there is a perimeter of defensive structures up there.

993
00:45:01,960 --> 00:45:09,960
This shows that the people who lived here were investing a lot of time and energy trying to make the best defensive system they could.

994
00:45:09,960 --> 00:45:10,960
Absolutely.

995
00:45:10,960 --> 00:45:11,960
Okay.

996
00:45:11,960 --> 00:45:12,960
Anything else?

997
00:45:12,960 --> 00:45:16,960
We found one more structure that I think you guys will like.

998
00:45:16,960 --> 00:45:17,960
Holy s***.

999
00:45:17,960 --> 00:45:18,960
It's the largest one we found.

1000
00:45:18,960 --> 00:45:20,960
It's approximately 34 meters in length.

1001
00:45:20,960 --> 00:45:22,960
That's a 100 foot long structure.

1002
00:45:22,960 --> 00:45:29,960
De Valenzuela says that there are three big public structures in the middle, which he says were actually 36 meters long.

1003
00:45:29,960 --> 00:45:31,960
36 meter long structures.

1004
00:45:31,960 --> 00:45:32,960
That's incredible though.

1005
00:45:32,960 --> 00:45:35,960
I mean, that's almost an exact match.

1006
00:45:35,960 --> 00:45:37,960
This is what we've been looking for.

1007
00:45:37,960 --> 00:45:44,960
This discovery not only mirrors the description from the conquistadors, but its sheer size speaks volumes.

1008
00:45:45,960 --> 00:45:55,960
The fact that there is a 100 foot long structure sitting in this valley definitely tells us that this is not some backwater place with a few inhabitants.

1009
00:45:55,960 --> 00:45:57,960
That is a larger scale project.

1010
00:45:57,960 --> 00:45:59,960
This might end up being the silver bullet.

1011
00:45:59,960 --> 00:46:00,960
Right here.

1012
00:46:00,960 --> 00:46:01,960
Right here.

1013
00:46:02,960 --> 00:46:04,960
Do you think this could be Saq Balaam?

1014
00:46:04,960 --> 00:46:10,960
I think when we first saw it, it was maybe about 80 percent sure.

1015
00:46:10,960 --> 00:46:11,960
Uh huh.

1016
00:46:11,960 --> 00:46:12,960
I'm up to like 99.

1017
00:46:12,960 --> 00:46:15,960
All of this screams Saq Balaam.

1018
00:46:15,960 --> 00:46:16,960
That's incredible.

1019
00:46:16,960 --> 00:46:17,960
Yeah.

1020
00:46:17,960 --> 00:46:18,960
What about you?

1021
00:46:18,960 --> 00:46:20,960
I think we find Saq Balaam.

1022
00:46:20,960 --> 00:46:21,960
You do?

1023
00:46:21,960 --> 00:46:22,960
Yes, for sure.

1024
00:46:22,960 --> 00:46:23,960
Lost city?

1025
00:46:23,960 --> 00:46:24,960
Found.

1026
00:46:24,960 --> 00:46:25,960
Absolutely.

1027
00:46:25,960 --> 00:46:26,960
Amazing.

1028
00:46:26,960 --> 00:46:27,960
Brent, what a pleasure.

1029
00:46:27,960 --> 00:46:28,960
Jose, awesome.

1030
00:46:28,960 --> 00:46:29,960
This is incredible.

1031
00:46:34,960 --> 00:46:38,960
It's no wonder that the fabled Saq Balaam has been so elusive.

1032
00:46:38,960 --> 00:46:41,960
After all, it was built to not be found.

1033
00:46:41,960 --> 00:46:47,960
But here in the deepest reaches of the jungle, the white jaguar seems to have revealed itself.

1034
00:46:47,960 --> 00:46:53,960
In the weeks that follow, the lidar data is refined and the results are remarkable.

1035
00:46:53,960 --> 00:47:00,960
The laser scans detected more platforms buried in the jungle, including a huge set of terraces for homes.

1036
00:47:00,960 --> 00:47:07,960
And on the ridge above us, what appears to be a sizable building with what may be an altar at one end.

1037
00:47:08,960 --> 00:47:17,960
If we have found Saq Balaam, it's impossible to overstate how historic a discovery it is and how important the work ahead will be.

1038
00:47:18,960 --> 00:47:21,960
Now, it must be fully ground truthed, as they say.

1039
00:47:21,960 --> 00:47:30,960
An excavation will need to be launched to interrogate these hidden features, which will help us preserve the final refuge of the free Maya in Mexico.

1040
00:47:31,960 --> 00:47:37,960
Though Saq Balaam fell, the fact is the conquistadors failed to extinguish Maya culture.

1041
00:47:39,960 --> 00:47:50,960
Throughout Mexico, it endures in the people, in the traditions, in the history, and even here, intertwined with the rainforest itself.

1042
00:47:50,960 --> 00:47:57,960
The Maya are a part of the land, and this discovery shows us they always will be.