A Slovenian archaeologist has found three sites of ancient Mayan ruins on the Yucatan Peninsula this year and last, prompting the media to dub him the real-life Indiana Jones.

Ivan Šprajc recently found two sites, Tamchén and Lagunita, after discovering the large site of Chactún last year, according to The Guardian.

"I've said to myself quite a few times that this is the last season, because it is so difficult. But it is such a reward when you find a new site," he told The Guardian.

But his efforts have been rewarded, and he is set to survey an almost entirely unexplored 1,200 square-mile area in the southern Mexican state of Campeche. He is still in the first phase of surveying the area.

The three sites have been dated to the 8th century, which aligns with the post-classic period of three centuries immediately before the collapse of the Mayan civilization around A.D. 900.

Sprajc said he found indications that these were smaller cities that thrived after the fall of a major city -- Calakmul.

Calakmul was once a great city during the classic period, but it quickly faded after losing a war in 695 with Tikal, another Maya superpower of the classic period.

But studying these three cities will indicate how the Mayan civilizations came to an end, by studying the existing theories of a prolonged drought, population pressure and intense conflict. Those factors are generally accepted as the deadly trifecta that killed the civilization, but it is not known in which order.

Sprajc also discovered a number of new and modified monuments, which may shed some light on the last three centuries. He said that some of the discoveries are so unique, indicating there is still much left to be learned.

Tamchén, which means "deep well" in Yucatec Maya, was named so because of the deep bottle-shaped chambers found underground that were used for storage and rain water collection. The ones found in this city are 13 meters, more than twice the depth of other cities.

Lagunita was already located in the 1970s but had been left unexplored. It is uniquely identified by a monster mouth facade on one of the buildings, representing an earth god related with fertility.

Glyphs were found in stucco in Chactún, which sets it apart from other Mayan cities where the glyphs are normally found in stone.