 <unk> ( / <unk> / ) ( <unk> ’ al in modern <unk> <unk> ) is the ruins of an ancient city found in a <unk> in Guatemala . <unk> <unk> , a gum @-@ <unk> , reported the ruins to La <unk> , a <unk> newspaper , which named the site <unk> . After the Berlin Academy of Sciences ' magazine republished the report in 1853 , <unk> and treasure hunters began visiting the forest . Today tourism to the site may help protect the <unk> . It is one of the largest archaeological sites and urban centers of the pre @-@ Columbian Maya civilization . It is located in the archaeological region of the <unk> Basin in what is now northern Guatemala . Situated in the department of El <unk> , the site is part of Guatemala 's <unk> National Park and in 1979 it was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site . 
