Uncovering an Ancient City's Secrets
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Condensed by Native Village

From a distance, it looks like a mountain overrun by dense growth in the Guatemalan jungle. But researchers say the massive mound at the ancient Mayan city site of El Mirador could be the world's largest pyramid,

The pyramid is called La Danta. Scientists are trying to preserve it.

"The pyramid is a structure the world should know, because it represents an investment of labor unprecedented in the world's history, said archaeologist Richard Hansen, director of the Mirador Basin Project. "Every single stone in that building, from the bottom to the top, was carried by human labor,"

El Mirador covered an area larger than downtown Los Angeles.  Hansen believes it may house thousands of other pyramids. The city was active from about 500 B.C. to A.D. 100.

The archaeologists also found ancient stone carvings that lays out the Mayan creation story. The discovery could rewrite Mayan history.

Preservationists are trying to save the area in the face of threats that range from drug trafficking to looting and logging.

 According to National Geographic, the Great Pyramid in Giza, Egypt, is currently the world's largest. It consists of 2.3 million stone blocks that weigh 2.5 tons to 15 tons apiece.