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Researchers in Mexico have discovered a large, lost Mayan city.
墨西哥的研究人员发现了一座巨大的遗落的玛雅城市。
The major urban settlement, named Valeriana, is hidden deep in the southern forest of Campeche.
这个主要的城市定居点，名为瓦莱里亚纳，隐藏在坎佩切南部森林的深处。
The discovery adds to existing knowledge about ancient Mayan settlements.
这一发现增加了对古代玛雅定居点的现有知识。
Valeriana was discovered by chance thanks to Lidar, or Light Detection and Ranging.
瓦莱里亚纳是偶然发现的，这要归功于激光雷达，即光探测和测距。
It is a technology that uses lasers to map the Earth’s surface.
这是一种利用激光绘制地球表面地图的技术。
The data used for the study came from around 122 square kilometers of high-quality Lidar data collected in 2013.
该研究使用的数据来自2013年收集的约122平方公里的高质量激光雷达数据。
The work, led by the Nature Conservancy in Mexico, was part of a forest monitoring project called Alianza.
这项工作由墨西哥自然保护协会领导，是一个名为Alianza的森林监测项目的一部分。
The project aimed to reduce emissions from tree cutting, or deforestation, and land damage.
该项目旨在减少树木砍伐、森林砍伐和土地破坏造成的排放。
Researchers wrote in the study, published by Cambridge University Press, that "The discovery of Valeriana highlights the fact that there are still major gaps in our knowledge of the existence or absence of large sites within as-yet unmapped areas of the Maya Lowlands.”
研究人员在剑桥大学出版社发表的研究报告中写道：“瓦莱里亚纳的发现突显了这样一个事实，即在我们对玛雅低地尚未绘制地图的地区是否存在大型遗址的了解方面，仍然存在重大差距。”
Lidar technology revealed a major settlement, filled with buildings and agricultural infrastructure.
激光雷达技术揭示了一个主要的定居点，里面到处都是建筑物和农业基础设施。
The classical-era Maya civilization dates back to around 1800 to 1100 years ago.
古典时代的玛雅文明可以追溯到1800到1100年前。
At the time, the Maya civilization grew its control over present-day southern Mexico and what are now Belize, El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras.
当时，玛雅文明逐渐控制了今天的墨西哥南部以及现在的伯利兹、萨尔瓦多、危地马拉和洪都拉斯。
In the study, the researchers identified a total of 6,764 structures, suggesting a populous ancient city.
在这项研究中，研究人员共发现了6764座建筑，表明这是一座人口众多的古城。
The researchers will carry out further detailed study of the dataset – both remotely and in the field.
研究人员将对该数据集进行进一步的详细研究——包括远程研究和实地研究。
The discovery serves as a way to better understand ancient Mayan urbanization and settlements.
这一发现有助于更好地了解古代玛雅人的城市化和定居点。
I’m John Russell.
我是约翰·罗素。
