Priceless treasures under the Mexican pyramids

When archaeologists found a tunnel under the Feathered Serpent Pyramid in Teotihuacan, Mexico, in 2003, they did not expect to discover a wonder.

In 2003, archaeologists discovered a tunnel beneath the Feathered Serpent Pyramid, among the ruins of Teotihuacan, an ancient city in present-day Mexico. After 1,800 years of slumber, the tunnel has now revealed its secrets, with thousands of treasures still in the same place as when they were sacrificed.

The artifacts unearthed included green crocodile teeth, crystals, and sculptures depicting jaguars in a pouncing position. Most notable were miniature models of mountains, attached to tiny pools of liquid mercury representing lakes.

The walls around the tunnel are coated with pyrite powder (a mineral that has the color of pure gold), giving the surrounding space a strange light, giving the feeling of standing under a galaxy.

The skull will be displayed at the de Young Museum, San Francisco.

The site near Mexico City is one of the world’s largest and most important archaeological sites, attracting millions of tourists each year. These are the most exciting finds in decades, and their significance is being revealed in a major exhibition that opens in early September at the de Young Museum in San Francisco.

Teotihuacan has long been a land of mystery. Nearly 2,000 years ago, it was the most populous city in the Americas. Yet little is known about its language, rulers, or the cause of its collapse around 550 AD. The name Teotihuacan—given by the Aztecs—means “Birthplace of the Gods.”

Many questions remain unanswered, but the newly discovered tunnels offer new insights into the structure and lore of Teotihuacan, a sacred site and bustling metropolis. The de Young exhibition, as well as other art collections, offer the latest theories about the mysteries that still surround the site.

The discovery came about by accident. After a heavy rain, Mexican archaeologist Sergio Gómez Chávez discovered a crack near the base of the Feathered Serpent pyramid that could be dangerous for visitors. Using a torch to peer down but seeing nothing but darkness, he tied a rope around his waist and made his way down. When he arrived, he was amazed to find that it was a cylindrical hole that resembled a well.

According to Sergio, there was a terrible stench coming from the well, but at the bottom, looking through the gap in the rubble, they discovered an ancient structure. Everything was done cautiously: before digging deeper, Sergio's team used a robot with a camera to explore the tunnel. They discovered the tunnel was as long as a football field, running through the adjacent large square and the pyramid.

“We were amazed by what no one had seen for at least 1,500 years,” he said. The other end of the tunnel led to three rooms containing treasure worthy of Indiana Jones.

The Pyramid of the Moon holds many secrets.

The Pyramids of the Sun and the Pyramids of the Moon are unlike the ancient Egyptian Pyramids. They are temples rather than tombs, and are connected by the Avenue of the Dead as part of an urban system governed by the movements of the sun.

The design of the city reflects the idea that this was the “birthplace of the gods” and also the beginning of the universe. According to the water marks left along the walls of the tunnels discovered by Sergio, the large square above ground was flooded, creating a symbolic image of the primordial sea, so that the pyramids became “mountain peaks” above the water.

The inhabitants of the city and similar civilizations believed that the universe was made up of three levels connected by an axis: the heavens, the earth, and the underworld. This was not a place of terrible punishment as described in the Bible, but a dark, watery realm with lakes and mountains - symbolizing wealth, rebirth, and death.

The collection of artifacts that Sergio found in the tunnel, including large snail shells, beetle wings, hundreds of metal balls... were offerings to the gods. The tunnel with pyrite light and a lake of mercury also simulated a part of the afterlife.

At the end of the tunnel, Sergio’s group discovered four bluestone statues—the highlight of the de Young exhibit. They were dressed in costumes and wearing beads. Two were in their original positions: leaning back and looking up at the axis where the three levels of the universe intersected.

They were the shamans who founded Teotihuacan and guided pilgrims to the sacred site. They carried with them sacred objects for their magic, including pendants and pyrite mirrors, which were considered portals to another world.

The exhibition features some of the most important discoveries made at Teotihuacan in decades. Archaeologists believe there was a palace near the plaza where residents played the ancient Mesoamerican game of racquetball.

In the 1980s, evidence of human sacrifice was found in the Feathered Serpent pyramid. More than 100 warriors are believed to have died there, kneeling with their hands tied behind their backs. Many wore necklaces of shells carved to resemble human teeth; a few were made of real teeth. In another pyramid, numerous sacrificed animals were discovered, including wolves, rattlesnakes, eagles, and leopards.

The Feathered Serpent’s facade is fearsome, carved with a warlike reptilian figure wearing a feathered headdress (like the Aztec god Qutzalcoatl). Rituals such as sacrifices taking place at the temple would have impressed the masses below, who would have probably trembled with fear. However, it also raised the religious spirit, making the large, multi-ethnic city more cohesive.

Buried for 1,800 years, two human statues have now been discovered in the tunnel.

The newly discovered tunnel also contained fragments of a statue of the Storm God, a deity associated with water and fertility, as well as fire, lightning, and destruction. The Storm God was the master of holy water in the afterlife.

At the De Young exhibition, next to the Storm God is the Fire God - an old man sitting cross-legged with a brazier on his head. Visitors can also admire the benevolent Water Goddess and the friendly Maize God in famous stone masks, symbolizing the life-sustaining power of the harvest.

Teotihuacan’s inhabitants would have walked through thousands of square metres of brightly coloured surfaces: the site is famous for its vivid red murals. The exhibition features delicate depictions of flowering trees, or, more edgy, two jackals devouring a deer.

Animals are ubiquitous in the visual world of Teotihuacan, often anthropomorphized. One mural depicts a humanoid cat wearing a feathered headdress and a shell necklace. Another on the Avenue of the Dead depicts a menagerie of mythological beasts.

Other sophisticated artifacts, such as obsidian tools and incense burners, shed light on the architecture of this ancient city, in which living quarters were divided according to ethnicity, occupation, and rank. Migrant groups from Central America occupied their own areas. In this way, Teotihuacan's development resembled that of modern cities such as London or New York.

The exhibition also features a marble statue excavated from an upscale residential area. Cracks in its arms and legs suggest it may have been tied to a pole with rope, replicating a ritual in which high-ranking military prisoners were stripped, tied up, and then shot to death with arrows.

But the statue’s most significant detail lies in its connection to the fall of Teotihuacan: it was reconstructed from more than 160 fragments that had been chiseled and burned, coinciding with a fire that ravaged the city in the 6th century.

Who did it and why? No one can say for sure. Matthew Robb, curator of the exhibition, said Teotihuacan rejects all explanations, but will continue to attract new theories. To this day, mystery still surrounds this ancient city.

According to Khoahoc.tv