Lost City of the monkey god finally found after 500 years of searching

Honduras: Explorers think they have found the fabled White City of the Monkey God, after more than five centuries of hunting for the lost civilisation.

The home of a long-lost Central American culture was found by a Honduran-American team, aided by ex-members of the SAS, in Honduras.

The team returned from the site on Wednesday, noting that the nature of their many untouched findings were “incredibly rare".

Archaeologists believe the various artifacts found in the Honduran rain forest belong to a civilization thousands of years old, National Geographic reports.

The civilisation believed to have inhabited the city has not been given a name, however the city is often associated with the myth of El Dorado.

In the 1940s, explorers claimed to have spoken to indigenous people who told them that a monkey God lived there.

The legend goes that the God raped women who gave birth to half-chimp half-human offspring.

Mesoamerican archaeologist Christopher Fisher, who was with the expedition, said: “The undisturbed context is unique.

“This is a powerful ritual display, to take wealth objects like this out of circulation.”

The expert, from the University of Colorado, told how the site was littered with stunning artifacts, including ceremonial furniture and statues.

The mythical city, also known as the White City of Gold, was first referred to in 1526 in a letter to King Charles V of Spain.

Many claims of its discovery were made during the 20th century, including in 1939 when American adventurer Theodore Morde said he had discovered it.

But he died in a car crash before being able to reveal its location.

The incredible discoveries on the new site were studied and recorded by the expedition, but remain on the site unexcavated.

Because of this, the exact location of the site will remain unknown to protect it from looters.

The sought-after ruins were first located during an aerial survey of the area in May 2012.

Plans are now in the works to return to the site so experts can conduct further research.

The expedition’s ethnobotanist Mark Plotkin said: “This is clearly the most undisturbed rain forest in Central America.

"The importance of this place can’t be overestimated."