Archaeologists plan to further explore the area, check whether their assumptions are true

May 15, 2013 20:01 GMT  ·  By

During today's American Geophysical Union Meeting of the Americas in Cancun, a team of archaeologists are to detail arguments in favor of the theory that a long-lost city known as Ciudad Blanca might be hiding in the Honduran rain forests.

The idea that this city could be lurking in the forests of Honduras first emerged back in 2012.

At that time, specialists using light detection and ranging (lidar, for short) managed to piece together a topography of the area and claimed that canals, roads, foundations and other such structures were visible on their map.

“We use lidar to pinpoint where human structures are by looking for linear shapes and rectangles. Nature doesn't work in straight lines,” researcher Stephen Leisz of the Colorado State University says.

According to Live Science, Ciudad Blanca is, for the time being at least, no more and no less than a myth dating back to the times of the conquistadors. Thus, its existence has never been scientifically proven.

The conquistadors believed that this city was a metropolis whose inhabitants were the proud owners of whopping amounts of gold.

The researchers hope that by the end of this year, they will have succeeded in exploring the area by foot.

It is their belief that this will allow them to figure out whether they have discovered Ciudad Blanca, some other long-lost city or pretty much nothing.