Modern technology has enabled archaeologists to virtually peel back a forest to discover the lost Maya city, an ancient civilisation that existed for up to 3,000 years and stretched from the pacific coast to the gulf coast of Mexico. The technology, known as LIDAR, shot lasers from a plane through the tree canopy which bounced off of the ground to create an image of the earth below. The images were then used to map and uncover the hidden historical structures that make up the ancient Maya city.