Valley of lost cities found hidden in the Amazon

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Read our privacy policy A cluster of lost cities in the Amazon rainforest that was home to at least 10,000 farmers around 2,000 years has been uncovered by archeologists, who described the “incredible” find as an “extremely complicated society”. The sites were found to be part of a dense network of settlements and connecting roadways that were tucked into the forested foothills of the Andes “It was a lost valley of cities,” said Rostain, who directs investigations at France’s National Center for Scientific Research. “For the region, it’s really in a class of its own in terms of how early it is.” José Iriarte, a University of Exeter archaeologist, said it would have required an elaborate system of organized labor to build the roads and thousands of earthen mounds. “There’s always been an incredible diversity of people and settlements in the Amazon, not only one way to live,” said Rostain.