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According to Brazilian news site Metropoles, the city only 250 yearsIn other words, it does not belong to ancient civilizations, but is a Portuguese colonial settlement. The scientists have already presented the first of three parts of their research program called “Amazônia Revelada”.

Located in the modern Brazilian state of Rondônia, the former colony is said to have appeared briefly on some maps before disappearing hundreds of years ago. This discovery was made possible in part by previous archaeological exploration of the area called the “Serra da Muralha” or “Tyre Mountains”, which is connected to a road passing nearby.

With the help of local indigenous people, University of São Paulo archaeologist Eduardo Neves and his team were able to map what they believed to be the ruins of a settlement. Archaeologists then collaborated with Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research to use remote sensing technology (LiDAR) to better survey the area without the need for physical movement and the threat of damaging ancient structures.

This place was abandoned, the forest occupied it and the stone blocks were removed. With the help of our maps, we were able to locate the streets of this city,
– says Nevis.

Although many very ancient artifacts and cities have been found in Amazonia, which has been inhabited for tens of thousands of years, the discovery of this type of Europeanized stonework aroused particular interest in the team of archaeologists. These structures mark a later, darker period in Brazilian history: the colonization of the land by the Portuguese, who modernized the transatlantic slave trade and dominated it for more than a century.

The scientists, who do not present any photographs of the city or even scans of its territory, want to “start registering these endangered archaeological sites so that they can be protected as national heritage sites.” Neves insisted on involving indigenous people to better understand the context of this discovery and the need to preserve these historic sites located near other protected areas.