Using Google Earth to Find Ancient Cities

Posted by Matt in January 20th, 2008

Gone are the days of a fearless Indiana Jones battling through the jungle in search of ancient treasures. Today’s archaeologists are using high-tech tools - from NASA satellites to Google Earth - to do the hard work for them.

In 2005 the Internet search company Google launched its virtual globe Google Earth constructed from satellite images and aerial photography. The program quickly caught on with millions of users around the world keen to zoom in on their houses, their dream holiday destinations, and even unintentional pictures of boats and planes.

But then, as the story goes, an Italian computer programmer, Luca Mori, turned its use to archaeology. Using Google Earth, he found signs of a Roman villa buried beneath a riverbed. He contacted experts, who decided to excavate.

Map for Tikal, Guatemala

[Countries link to CIA Factbook. States link to Wikipedia.]

Flickr Tags: Mayan, City

YouTube Related Videos for Tags: Mayan, City

	Mayan City Of Chacchoben Video was taken in Costa Maya Mexico in March of 2007 Tags: city, Mayan
	Mayan city of Coba, Mexico A tour of the sights by bicycle. Tags: coba, maya, mexico
	Tulum - Ancient Mayan City Taken March 2007, we didn't know what we were going to see. It was wonderful, and our Mayan guide made it all come "alive". Tags: Mayan, Tulum, Yucatan
	Matt Purvis in the ancient Mayan city of Tikal, Guatemala A bit of history and information about the ancient Mayan city of Tikal, Guatemala. Tags: Guatemala, Matt, mayan, Purvis, pyramids, Tikal
	Mayan City of Tulum, the Yucatan, Mexico Mayan fortress and scenic perch above the Caribbean, a clip from "Mayavision", a free Intrepid Berkeley Explorer video of major Mayan Temple cities in Central America and Mexico, plus Mexico City with the Virgin of Guadalupe, the Temples of Teotihuacán, and much more. To enjoy all of this Mayan Pyramids film, plus over 30 more free, non-commercial, streaming travel videos from every continent, and still pictures, please ask a search engine for: Intrepid Berkeley Explorer Tags: Maya, Mayan, Mayan-city, Mexico, Tulum, Yucatan
	Ancient Mayan City of Palenque Temple of the Skull and Temple of Inscriptions Tags: Chiapas, Maya, Mayan, Palenque, ruins
	Tulum Mayan City 1 Tulum Mexico, south of Playa del Carmen and Akumal Tags: Tulum
	Xunantunich Mayan Temple Ruins http://RainbowMaya.com - The Xunantunich ancient Mayan city in the Cayo District of Belize are an amazing array of temple ruins. This Mayan site has a few large pyramids including the second largest man-made structure in Belize, "El Castillo". Watch as I pan around this ancient Mayan city. http://BetterInBelize.com Tags: ancient, Belize, Castillo, Cayo, city, El, Maya, Mayan, pyramids, ruins, temples, Xunantunich
	Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico, a Maya city port A short sightseeing around Tulum, this example of the maya renaissance which has not a single Ball Game court... Tags: city, Maya, port, Tulum
	Air - People in the City Air performing 'people in the city' live at the Mayan theatre in Los Angeles, July 12, 2001. Tags: Air, band, city, electro, electronic, French, Mayan, people, pop, rock
	Chichen Itza, Best Preserved Mayan Site, Yucatan, Mexico Chichen Itza and its famous Mayan Pyramid El Castillo, a clip from "Mayavision", a free Intrepid Berkeley Explorer video of major Mayan Temple cities in Central America and Mexico, plus Mexico City with the Virgin of Guadalupe, the Temples of Teotihuacán, and much more. To enjoy all of this Mayan Pyramids film, plus over 30 more free, non-commercial, streaming travel videos from every continent, and still pictures, please ask a search engine for: Intrepid Berkeley Explorer Tags: Chichen-Itza, El-Castillo, Maya, Mayan, Mayan-city, Mayan-pyramid, Mayan-temple, Mexico, Yucatan
	Mayan Mystery - The Maya of Mexico DVD-Download: http://hilaroad.com/video/ - A chance to take part in some amateur archaeology. This video presents theories about the meaning of a symbol on a Mayan temple at Tulum near Cancun. I believe this symbol and temple relate to Mayan observations of the stars, others have suggested the temple is an ancient lighthouse, or a sacrificial center, even that the symbol is related to Dan Brown's story the DaVinci Code! Images and story available at our website: http://hilaroad.com/maya Tags: archaeoastronomy, archaeology, astronomy, Belize, Cancun, City, ecotourism, Guatemala, holiday, Inca, Maya, Mayan, Mesoamerica, Mexico, mystery, Riviera, science, symbol, tourism, Tulum, Yucatan
	Uxmal, Mayan Pyramid of the Magician, the Yucatan, Mexico Mayan city of Uxmal and massive Pyramid of the Magician, a clip from "Mayavision", a free Intrepid Berkeley Explorer video of major Mayan Temple cities in Central America and Mexico, plus Mexico City with the Virgin of Guadalupe, the Temples of Teotihuacán, and much more. To enjoy all of this Mayan Pyramids film, plus over 30 more free, non-commercial, streaming travel videos from every continent, and still pictures, please ask a search engine for: Intrepid Berkeley Explorer Tags: Maya, Mayan, Mayan-Pyramids, Mayan-temples, Mexico, Pyramid-of-the-Magician, Uxmal, Yucatan
	Activation Maya; Sac Peten Sac-Petén Archeological Site: An hour's hike through the jungles at the back of the village brings one to the smaller lake of Sac-Petén (so named because of its high mineral content in which the women say they cannot make their soap form suds or their beans become tender). On a peninsula in the lake lies another Mayan city-site where a dig was recently financed by the University of Texas. go to www.youtube.com/profile?user=crystalskulls for more videos from this producer! Tags: 2012, Ceremony, Maya, Solstice
	Offer Nissim feat Maya [Summer Night City] Offer Nissim feat Maya [Summer Night City] Tags: Abba, City, feat, Maya, Night, Nissim, Offer, Summer
	The Lost Gods - The Maya 1/3 The Lost Gods - The Maya Part 1 (History Channel) The Lost Gods, a documentary series that takes a thought-provoking look at these ancient empires and their vanished religions. The Maya believed they owed a blood debt to the Gods -- one that could only be repaid through sacrifice. Deep in the rainforest of Guatemala, host Christy Kenneally explores the massive Mayan city of Tikal. In Mexico, he discovers the secrets of the spectacular temples of Palenque and Chichen Itza. And at the Island of Flores, Guatemala, he reflects on the final stand of the Maya against the invading Spaniards. Tags: Channel, Documentary, Gods, History, Lost, Maya, Mexico
	Chichen Itza Yucatan Mexico www.rivieramaya.info or www.cancuncd.com. Chichen Itza ancient mayan city, most advanced construction on mayan world , mayans, astronomy, mathematics Tags: castle, chichen, culture, itza, itzaes, kukulcan, mayan
	Mayan Short List - Culver City MSL...For people who...know... Tags: Movie
	Copan, Paris of the Mayan Empire, Honduras The splendid Mayan city of Copan, a clip from "Mayavision", a free Intrepid Berkeley Explorer video of major Mayan Temple cities in Central America and Mexico, plus Mexico City with the Virgin of Guadalupe, the Temples of Teotihuacán, and much more. To enjoy all of this Mayan Pyramids film, plus over 30 more free, non-commercial, streaming travel videos from every continent, and still pictures, please ask a search engine for: Intrepid Berkeley Explorer Tags: Copan, Honduras, Maya, Mayan, Mayan-cities, Mayan-empire
	Elightened Mayan Velctric Racing in Mexico City Check out the "Elightened Mayan" on the original electric skateboard. Some good footage at the velodrome, we want to start a list of people that would be interested in racing their electric skates in velodromes. There are lots of them. If you can hang on the wall in the turn when you come out the motor thrusts you into the straightaway, not the time to relax. If you are interested in our new sport, shoot me a mail. jasonsbiz@aol.com Tags: electric, exkate, extreme, skateboarding, sports