Divers in Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula say they have discovered the world’s biggest
underwater cave. Undersea archaeologists discovered recently that the cave system referred to as Sac Actun, situated near the beach town of Tulum, totally links underwater to form a 216-mile-long cavern. The Gran Acuifero Maya(GAM), the company behind the cave’s exploration, has actually been diving through the underwater network for the previous 10 months. They discovered that more than 200 small caverns connect underwater to form exactly what they believe to be the world’s largest underwater cave. Not only is the undersea system an unusual geological discovery, archaeologists are rejoicing at the possibility of studying ancient civilizations through artifacts embedded in the walls of the caves. Scuba diver checking out the underwater caverns, Sistema Dos Pisos in Tulum, Mexico on the Yucatan Peninsula.
Herbert Meyrl/Getty Images
Ancient Mayans may have thought about the cavern an entryway into the underworld. While exploring the cavern system, undersea archaeologists discovered human bones and pottery dating back thousands of years. GAM thinks that the new discovery could help archaeologists much better comprehend the ancient Mayan civilization.
“It enables us to value a lot more clearly how the routines, the expedition websites and ultimately the terrific pre-Hispanic settlements that we understand emerged,” Guillermo de Anda, the director of GAM, informed Reuters. GAM will continue exploring to examine whether the cave links to three more systems nearby. Explorers will also keep examining the cave for its unique underwater biodiversity.
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