Aztec Ruins Discovered in Mexico City

The most significant archeological find in many decades has been made this month in Mexico City. Archeologists have unearthed in the capital a gigantic 12 ton stone slab at the site of the ancient Aztec Templo Mayor, and many think the monolith may in fact cover a burial chamber where artifacts of great importance will be found. The huge stone which has a surface area of 46 feet, has yet to be fully uncovered, but it seems to be a carved portrayal of the Aztec earth goddess, Tlaltecuhtli. Next to the buried slab, archeologists found a 15th century alter decorated with relief carvings of the rain god Tlaloc, as well as carvings of an unidentified deity related to plants and fertility. The alter and the monolithic stone are still being excavated at the time of this writing, but many experts are saying this find represents one of the greatest archeological discoveries in Mexican history.

[ Just one of the figures found on the newly discovered alter at the archaeological site of Templo Mayor in Mexico City, Mexico. The figure is of an unidentified diety, but carvings were also found of the rain god, Tlaloc. Also found near the alter was a giant 12 ton stone monolith of Tlaltecuhtli - the fearsome earth goddess who devoured the cadavers of the dead. AP Photo/ Claudio Cruz. ]

In 1978, while installing underground cables beneath the streets of Mexico City near the capital’s spacious Zocalo and national cathedral, electricity workers found an immense stone disk carving of the Aztec moon goddess, Coyolxauhqui (She Who Wears Bells on Her Cheeks). Immediately archeologists knew they had found the actual remains of the Aztec’s Great Temple of Tenochtitlan - since it was already understood that the moon goddess stone lay at the bottom of that temple’s enormous staircase. It had long been thought that the Great Temple had been totally destroyed and the cathedral built directly over the buried ruins, but finding the 10 foot wide, 8 ton carving of Coyolxauhqui launched the excavations of the area that continue to this day.

In 1987 the Museo del Templo Mayor was established on the site of the Great Temple, and today it houses a magnificent collection of over 7,000 objects excavated from the immediate area. Arizona State University maintains an excellent website in English about the Templo Mayor museum, or you may choose to view the beautiful official website of the museum (Spanish only). Unfortunately, neither museum has updates on the latest finds written about here, but you can read the latest news about the Tlaltecuhtli monolith at the National Geographic website, or from a number of other news resources.