VETERAN EXPLORERS UNCOVER ANCIENT CITY HIDDEN IN THE AMAZON JUNGLE IN NEW TRAVEL CHANNEL SPECIAL ‘LOST AMAZON: PROJECT Z’ PREMIERING ON TUESDAY, OCTOBER 16 AT 10 P.M. ET/PT
October 2, 2018
NEW YORK (October 2, 2018) – On a lifelong quest to find a legendary empire of mythical giants, Amazon expedition leader James Lynch and navigator René Delmotte return to the jungles of Peru in the Travel Channel premiere of “Lost Amazon: Project Z” on Tuesday, October 16 at 10 p.m. ET/PT. In the hour-long special, the renowned adventure-seekers, joined by field scientist Marsh Mokhtari, journey deep into the mountains and uncover a remarkable lost civilization buried under a canopy of tropical forest. With the use of the latest drone-mounted LiDAR technology (laser light beams that penetrate layers of the forest canopy to generate a 3-D map of the surface), the team has mapped out an enormous city that is much larger than even the locals realized because most of it is hidden by the jungle.
The expedition also discovered architecture that is unusual for the native Chachapoyas, including a square building with a raised platform that Lynch theorizes may have been a temple. This massive, hidden lost world, with two separate sites that span more than 30 acres, may lead to evidence that will rewrite history.
“We did discover something very important,” said Lynch. “I have been exploring remote South American jungles for more than 40 years, and this is a very big city. My hope is that this discovery leads to ongoing scientific research at this site so we can learn its secrets.”
In 1996, René Delmotte and James Lynch organized the AUTAN Expedition to retrace Percy Harrison Fawcett’s footsteps on his last expedition to the unknown in 1925, in the unexplored region of the Brazilian Mato Grosso. During the expedition, a group of indigenous people, including among them the Kalapalos who claim to have been the last to see Percy Harrison Fawcett, held the expedition's team hostage requesting ransom to set them free.
“Lost Amazon: Project Z” is produced by MAK Pictures for Travel Channel. For MAK Pictures, the executive producers are Mark Kadin, Will Ehbrecht and Gia Galligani. For Travel Channel, the executive producer is Christine Shuler, Jane Latman is general manager and Henry Schleiff is group president of Investigation Discovery, Travel Channel, American Heroes Channel and Destination America.