Emily Chan
A lost colonial city dating back to the 18th century was discovered in the Amazon rainforest. The ancient Portuguese settlement had previously appeared on maps, but its exact location was unclear.
“It was abandoned, the forest took over, and the stone blocks were removed…We were able to identify the layout of the streets of this city, which was also a fascinating discovery,” said Eduardo Neves, the lead researcher and director of the Museum of Archaeology and Ethnography at the University of São Paulo.
In the year 1500, the explorer Pedro Álvares Cabral claimed the land for Portugal, marking the beginning of colonization of what is now Brazil.
During the next three centuries, Portugal established a colonial administration and used slave labor from Africa to exploit Brazil’s natural resources, particularly coffee, sugar, and gold.
Finally, in the early 19th century, Brazil declared its independence, ending over 300 years of colonial rule. The discovery of the colonial city in the Amazon was part of the Amazônia Revelada project.
The project’s goal is to identify archaeological sites throughout the Amazon using advanced technology and the traditional knowledge of the people who live in the rainforest.
“We want to register these archaeological sites to make them part of [our] heritage and create an additional layer of protection for these territories,” Neves said.
The project involves two main strategies. First, the rainforest is surveyed using LIDAR technology to detect archaeological sites concealed by dense vegetation.
LIDAR is a remote sensing method that uses lasers to measure distances and create three-dimensional models of the Earth’s surface. It allows researchers to see through the forest canopy.
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