- We were looking for older structures, but were surprised to find such a large facility. It has proven to be the largest in the history of Mayan civilization, says Takeshi Inomata, archaeologist at the University of Arizona.

Instead of digging through the landscape, archaeologists have analyzed the soil with remote analysis technology, known as lidar. A 1500 meter long artificial terrace emerged that was 10-15 meters high.

Discovered the temple

Takeshi Inomata led the expedition that discovered the temple. Analyzes of organic material at the site date the plant to between 1000-800 BC, according to a study published in this week's Nature. It is the very oldest Mayan construction ever discovered.

Is it a solar observatory?

In the middle of the large elongated terrace there is another construction consisting of a hill and a smaller plateau-like formation (see video above). In a commentary on the study, also published in Nature, archaeologist Patricia McAnany writes that it resembles a Mayan observatory.

In such cases, the hill would have been a pyramid, and if one stood on top of it the Mayan people could observe how the sun rose over the edge of the small plateau during summer and winter solstices.

Processions erect ramps

Maya developed a relatively advanced form of astronomy and had good knowledge of the movement of the planets and the sun in the sky, but Takeshi Inomata is not convinced that this was a purely observatory.

- I think this was a place for ceremonies that might have been loosely connected to the sun's bicycle. It is possible that a ramp went up the ten meters terrace. A large number of people could gather at the rectangular plaza, says Takeshi Inomata