Passage to ’Underworld’ Found Hiding Under Mexico’s Pyramid of the Moon Robin Andrews - IFLscience
go to original July 5, 2017

Life among the ancient Tenochtitlán tribe who occupied the land between 100 BC to AD 750 is shrouded in mystery (INAH)

Archaeologists, quite rightly, love a secret and mysterious tunnel. Whether they’re concealing a cache of mummies or they’re designed to mimic the plumbing network of an artificial volcano, they never fail to stoke the fires of the imagination – and, of course, these tunnels always lead to some sort of treasure.

Now, a brand-new passageway has been identified by researchers at the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) in Mexico City. Using CT scans, a lengthy hidden tunnel has been found 10 meters (roughly 33 feet) beneath the surface of Teotihuacan, a truly ancient metropolis just north of the modern capital.

The tunnel was found under the grandiose Pyramid of the Moon, and it extends towards the central square – an area used for human sacrifices and other long-lost rituals. This pyramid is the highest structure in the city, and it’s surrounded by a smaller version of it, where the public were thought to stand and watch the sacrifices take place.

The team at INAH believe that the tunnel resembles that found in other sites across the region, which were often covered with offerings and were designed to imitate passages to the underworld. The origins of life would have been emulated in the tunnel’s features in some way or another.

There’s also a chance that it’s the central spine of a network of concealed tunnels that snake their way beneath the surface.

The pyramid itself, built to honor the creator, the Great Goddess of Teotihuacan, is full of human sacrifices and people buried alive, along with shards of obsidian, greenstone, and various animal skeletons. As the tunnel has yet to be excavated, the researchers are unsure what exactly it may contain, but it’s likely similar objects and corpses will be found.

Read the rest at IFLscience

Related: Mexico City Uncovers the 1840s 'Zocalo' Beneath Iconic Plaza (Associated Press)

Related: Aztec ‘Tower Of Skulls’ Reveals Women, Children Were Sacrificed (NPR)

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