Mexico City, Oct 31 (IANS/EFE): New technologies are helping archaeologists to learn more about and protect sites in Mexico's Mayan zone, a popular area for national and international researchers, experts said at a seminar in the Mexican capital.

"Much of the research is being done with new technologies, such as ground-penetration radar and low-level flights, which allow us to study the subsoil. All of these techniques are being used in the Mayan zone, one of the most researched areas in the world," National Anthropology and History Institute, or INAH, national coordinator Nelly Robles said.

The official said during the "Toward an International Conservation Plan for the Mayan World Heritage Sites" seminar that protection benefits archaeological projects and pre-Columbian sites in the long run.

More than 30 specialists from Honduras, Guatemala, Nicaragua, El Salvador and Mexico are examining the condition of ancient sites and crafting a wide-ranging conservation plan at the gathering.