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By Nomadic Chris, 15 January 2010
Has a mythical city finally been found in the Amazon?
Did Google Earth really help find the location!
El Dorado (Golden One in Spanish and sometimes known as 'The City of Z'), a mythical location that for centuries has been steeped in mystery and wonder, may have finally been discovered. This ground breaking find has debunked scientific theories which stated that the hostile environment of the Amazon could not support large scale human life.
The legend began when the conquistadors began discovering Aztec and Inca cities as they headed further inland in their explorations; in 1519 Hernan Cortes and his soldiers discovered the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan (Mexico) while in the early 1530s, Francisco Pizarro conquered the Incan empire (now Peru). According to folklore, another city deep in the Amazon was filled with untold riches and gold. Both human curiosity and greed fueled people’s expectations and the legend grew and grew. But was it true and where was it?
Since then, many brave expeditions / individuals all ventured deep into the vast Amazonian jungles seeking treasures and discoveries beyond their wildest dreams; some lost their lives and others claimed to have reached the location but no-one had conclusive proof (No digital cameras on hand!) So the legendary lost city in the Amazon remained just that, a legend...until now!
In 2002, modern day explorers, Martti Parssinen (Finnish historian and archeologist) and Alceu Ranzi hit the bulls-eye! Parssinen had noticed geometrical shapes and formations dug into the earth while flying over the Amazon. These shapes from ground level would not be noticeable but from the air, a whole different picture emerged! Others debunked their discovery but Google Earth satellite images proved them correct.
Unfortunately, for those early intrepid explorers, they did not have what today’s modern day explorers had! Namely, Google Earth and satellite imagery!
Oh how much easier would life be if the Conquistadors had Wireless...!
The recent find includes the following:
* More than 200 huge geometric earthworks carved in the upper Amazon basin near Brazil's border with Bolivia. This can be viewed from the top and the outlines of the foundations still remain.
* Spanning over a grand total of 155 miles, the circles, squares and other geometric shapes form a network of avenues, ditches and enclosures. This is conclusive proof that a vast human community lived in the area deep in the Amazon.
* The settlement is dated to have been built long before the explorer Christopher Columbus arrived. Some experts have date the settlement as early as 200 AD, others to 1283AD.
* The site could have supported a population of up to 60,000 people.
So it seems the mythical “El Dorado” has been discovered but what other treasures are still hidden in the vast depths of the Amazon?
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