Mayan city in Mexico uncovered on construction site

The ruins of a Mayan site, called Xiol

Archaeologists have found the ruins of an ancient Mayan city on a construction site in Mexico.

Palaces, plazas and pyramids form a part of the site where an industrial park was going to be built.

The discovery was made near a place called Mérida on Mexico's Yucatán peninsula in the South East of the country.

Experts say the site, called Xiol, has features of the Mayan Puuc style of architecture which is rare in that area.

What do we know about the Mayan city?

Pots like this were also discovered in the ruins of the Mayan city

Historians say the Mayan people were a civilisation that existed from around 250 AD to around 900 AD. The city is thought to have been occupied from 600 to 900 AD.

"We think more than 4,000 people lived around here," said Carlos Peraza, one of the archaeologists who led the excavation of the city.

Archaeologists also discovered pots and flint tools as well as the remains of marine life which suggested the people who lived there fished as well as farmed to get food.

The owners of the land say the park will still be built but the archaeological remains will be preserved.