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By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The mystery is not gone from Central America.
Honduran authorities said Tuesday that a high tech laser survey
disclosed a lost city deep in the eastern jungles.
This is believed to be the legendary Ciudad
Blanca or Ciudad
Perdida. The location is in the Mosquitia or
Moskitia zone
in the eastern part of the country.
The announcement came from Áfrico Madrid, minister of
Interior y Población. There has been no on-the-ground searches
of the site, but the ruins, if they are pre-Columbian, could be Mayan
or from an earlier population.
The air search device is called Lidar for Light Detection and
Ranging. Honduras spent $1.5 million for the project.
Many of the famous Mayan cites, like Copan, are in the western part of
the county not far from Guatemala. The Moskitia has been called
the Central American Amazon because of its jungles and lack of modern
conveniences. The area runs south and continues into Nicaragua.
Steve Helkins, a U.S. archaeologist, is involved in the project. He
gave a briefing Monday.
The popular impression is that great archaeological discoveries are
things of the past in Central America. Long gone are the days when
John Lloyd Stephens and draftsman Frederick Catherwood could wander
through the jungle and discover and catalogue new sites. That was in
the middle of the 19th century. Now luxury hotels operate in sight of
many ignored Mayan ruins on the Mexican Riviera.
In Cholula, México, tantalizing worked stone walls stick out
from hillsides being used as trash dumps. The general public has been
cautioned to stay away and leave excavation work to the experts.
The sentiment against so-called pot hunters works both ways.
Archaeological sites are preserved, but the paid experts have little
time for general surveys. Their interests are narrow.
Amateur archaeologists have made great discoveries, including that of
the ancient city of Troy. Many of the holdings of the Museo de Jade in
San José come from private researchers.
There probably are many great archaeological sites awaiting discovery,
even in Costa Rica, but the public generally is cautioned against
seeking them out. Costa Rican law weights against private searches, not
to mention the bugs, snakes and other surprises lurking in a place like
the Moskitia.
Costa Rica has had its share of air surveys for archaeology.
Long-hidden native foot trails were made known by NASA overflights in
1984. They were estimated to be as old as 2,500 years. But the native
populations left no stone monuments or lost cities.
Tourists and even residents can share in the
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Honduran Ministerio de Interior
y Población
photo
Steve Helkins describes
the find
Frederick Catherwood sketch
Maybe the new lost
city will hold finds such as the
famous Stela D from Copan that was sketched in
the middle of the 19th century.
excitement of discovery by going to the
much-underrated Monumento Nacional Guayabo near Cartago. There is a
lost
city visitors can drive to and avoid the bugs and snakes. The
impressive
drainage systems and stone works are open to the public, but there are
many acres that have not been excavated. The problem boils down to
money.
That also is true for educating the next generation of those who would
be Indiana Jones.
A fund drive to fix up a mobile museum centered on
Guayabo has fallen short.
Bob Oldham, executive director of the Fundacion Tayutic, said that only
10 percent of the needed $10,000 has been collected. However, he
promised the project would continue. The idea is to have a bus filled
with artifacts and interactive presentations about the past to bring to
school
children.
Oldham, a volunteer, has had museum experience. However, the fund drive
ended at midnight. The results are HERE!
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