Slovenian archeologist Ivan Šprajc stands before Lagunita, his most recent discovery.
(All photographs courtesy of Mauricio Marat, INAH)
The ruins remained thus far undiscovered because the jungle in which they lie is highly inaccessible.
A giant fang on the "monster mouth" portal at Lagunita.
The north jamb of the "monster mouth" portal facade. The mouth in question likely belongs to an earth monster, but may be a hybrid of several different creatures from Mayan mythology.
Two fragments of a stela, the stone shafts decorated with hieroglyphs that can be partially read.
Detail of the hieroglyphs on a stela found at Lagunita. The best-preserved inscription is dated 711 AD, by the Western calendar. The stelae were originally painted, and some of the red pigment remains
Detail of a figure with a headdress, on one of the stelae found at Lagunita.
By the year 1000 AD, practically every Mayan settlement had been abandoned.
The stelae contain both hieroglyphs and pictorial carvings.