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Miscellaneous See other Miscellaneous Articles Title: Ancient 'White City' of Gold is Discovered It 's a storyline that could be found in an Indiana Jones movie. But this time there is no Harrison Ford, just some of the smartest scientists in the world. Using advanced laser mapping technology, researchers from the University of Houston and the National Center for Airborne Laser Mapping (NCALM) have discovered a remote region of Honduras that may have exposed the legendary lost city of Ciudad Blanca, known as the 'White City' of gold. The city is shown in several texts as the birthplace of the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl and old reported sightings over the years have described golden idols and elaborately carved white stones like the one shown below from the fabled El Dorado city. el dorado gold Unfortunately, no confirmation of the existence of the city has ever been provided, so this new discovery of Ciudad Blanca is both impressive and historical. Scientists flew over the Mosquitia region of the Central American country in a small plane shooting billions of laser pulses at the ground which created a 3D digital map of the topology beneath the jungle canopy. NCALM laser map From The Daily Mail, Compiling their data, the analysts revealed what appears to be man-made elevation changes that are thought to show a forgotten city plaza dotted with pyramids reclaimed by the jungle. Legend has it, Ciudad Blanca is full of gold and ever since conquistador Hernando Cortes first made reference to it in a 1526 letter to King Charles V of Spain, explorers and gold hunters have been on the hunt to find this historical 'White City'. Much of the discovery goes to the credit of cinematographer and Ciudad Blanca enthusiast Steven Elkins who found private investors to back the NCALM team to use their laser mapping technology to chart the forest floor. Not necessarily on the hunt for gold, but inspired by the legend of such a lost city, the researchers and engineers flew over 60 square miles of forest in duel-engine Cessna planes, over the course of a week to get the most accurate of readings. Bill Carter, the man whom analyzed each days data and maps was the first to discover the indications of perhaps man-made structures in the jungle. After noticing straight lines and right angles on the 3D digital map, Carter recalls saying, “I'm the only person right now on the planet that knows that there are these ruins.” The technology used to discover these ruins is the first of its kind to be used in analogical discoveries, as the light detection and ranging (LiDAR) had only been used to provide intelligence after earthquakes, military spying and for river erosion detection. How the equipment works is a story in itself, from The Daily Mail: Flying above the intended target area, LiDAR operates by sending out 100,000 short laser pulses to the ground each second. The University of Houston and the NCALM team blanketed the Mosquitia rainforest with as many as 25-50 laser pulses every square metre that totaled up as more than four billion shots during the entire project. Like a high-tech version of sonar, the light beams hit the ground and return to the aircraft and the time taken allows researchers to create 3D digital map of the surrounding topology. If confirmed, this discovery from NCALM, University of Houston, and Carter all could change the face of ancient history, golden folklore and perhaps investors in the area. If more revealing information comes from the site and Ciudad Blanca is finally discovered, it would be comparable to the popularization of forgotten sites like Machu Picchu. Also, people feel that any progressive identification of this legendary 'White City' is found, then hopes for finding the mythical El Dorado or 'Lost City of Gold' could be found as well. The news of the potential discovery is still in the early stages, but the Honduran nation is excited about the prospect. For now, the rest of the world waits for archaeologists to trek through the dense forest to visit the site in person. Keep your eye on Wealth Wire for more updates from Ciudad Blanca. +9 Post Comment Private Reply Ignore Thread
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