Two underwater caverns in eastern Mexico has been connected by a group of divers which is believed to be the biggest flooded cave on the planet.
This discovery could help shed new light on the ancient Maya civilization.
The 347-km cave was identified after months of exploring a maze of underwater channels mentioned the Gran Acuifero Maya (GAM), a project dedicated to the study and preservation of the subterranean waters of the Yucatan peninsula.
The group found that the cave system known as Sac Actun, once measured at 263 km, communicated with the 83-km Dos Ojos system near the beach resort of Tulum as per GAM said in a statement. Sac Actun now absorbs Dos Ojos for the same reason.
GAM director and underwater archaeologist Guillermo de Anda said that the amazing discovery would help to understand the development of the rich culture of the region, dominated by the Maya civilization before the Spanish conquest.
He further mentioned that it allows them to appreciate much more clearly how the rituals, the pilgrimage sites and ultimately the great pre-Hispanic settlements emerged.
The Yucatan peninsula is full of monumental relics of the Maya people their cities drew upon an extensive network of sinkholes linked to subterranean waters known as cenotes.
Tags: Gran Acuifero Maya, mexico, Sac Actun