Remains of a previously unknown Maya city unearthed on Yucatan Peninsula by Dr. Ivan Šprajc

In a remote, depopulated, heavily overgrown and hardly accessible central part of the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, an expedition led by Dr. Ivan Šprajc, archaeologist, archaeoastronomer, and head of the Institute of Anthropological and Spatial Studies of ZRC SAZU, discovered the remains of an ancient Maya city they named Ocomtún, which was an important center more than 1,000 years ago.

The research carried out in May and June 2023 was funded by ZRC SAZU, Založba Rokus Klett, Adria kombi, Kreditna družba Ljubljana, AL Ars Longa travel agency (Slovenia), Ken & Julie Jones Charitable Foundation, and Milwaukee Audubon Society (USA).

This is Šprajc's second breakthrough discovery this year, following the January publication of a scientific article in which he and his co-authors argued that Maya astronomy and calendar have much earlier origins than previously thought.