Archaeologist Francisco Perez Ruiz said there were no known residential groups in Chichen Itza, meaning the housing complex would represent “the first residential group where a ruler lived with his entire family.”

The area, known as Chichen Viejo, is expected to be integrated in the near future into the visitor area of the Chichen Itza archaeological site, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The newly discovered complex includes the entrance arch, the House of the Snails, the House of the Moon, and the so-called Palace of the Phalluses.

Researchers from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) hope that this area and those yet to be uncovered can provide information on what life was like for the people who inhabited the city.

“There must be more residential groups that have not been explored yet. The study of these peripheral groups, around the central part, could tell us about other families, other groups that made up this great city,” said archaeologist Jose Osorio Leon.

Around 2 million people visit Chichen Itza site in southeast Mexico each year, according to official data.

It was founded as a Mayan pilgrimage center by the Itza, or “water sorcerers.”

Top: Casa de la Luna at Chichen Viejo. Photo by Reuters.