Scientists hope to find out the reasons for the death of one of the most mysterious
cities of the ancient civilization. The tunnel is known to have remained
sealed for nearly two and a half thousand years.
The exact location of the tunnel was established by specialists from the Mexican National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) using ground penetrating radar. The entrance to the underground structure is located a few meters from the pyramidal temple of the Feathered Serpent (Quetzalcoatl) at a depth of 12 m. Archaeologists under the leadership of Sergio Gomez Chavez removed 200 tons of earth from the excavation site, but have not yet reached the end of the tunnel. The technique shows that there is a certain obstacle at the 37th meter. As Gomez said at a specially assembled press conference, these could be giant blocks or statues with which the ancients blocked the entrance to the tunnel so that no one could enter it.
reference
Teotihuacan
is located 50 km northeast of Mexico City. It is under the protection of UNESCO. At the beginning of our era it was a regional center with a population of over 100 thousand inhabitants. Ethnic composition has not been established. The Aztecs found only the majestic ruins of the city - the pyramids of the Moon, the Sun, the Feathered Serpent.
The researchers are flattered that they are the first to be able to penetrate the tunnel in the last 1,800 years - for some as yet unknown reason, it was barricaded in the 2nd century AD. e. INAH historians believe that at the end of the tunnel, located directly below the base of the temple, there is a gallery leading to the tombs of the rulers of Teotihuacan, the INAH press release emphasizes. Until now, scientists have not been able to find a single burial of a high-ranking Teotihuacan.
“There is evidence that the entrance to the tunnel was blocked up in 200-250 AD. BC, most likely after something was hidden in the dungeon. According to one of the hypotheses, in one of the gigantic cameras discovered by the GPR, we will be able to find the remains of the city nobility,”Gomez said.
Another world model
He stressed that historians will not rush headlong to the tombs, but will systematically analyze the tunnel and its contents. "The discovery and systematic study of the tunnel is very important for archaeologists, as it presents a unique opportunity to learn more about the cosmogony and religion of the ancient Teotihuacans," said the head of the excavation. He is sure that by creating the tunnel, the Indians embodied their idea of the afterlife in it. There are suggestions that not only the dead were buried in underground structures, but also initiation and inauguration ceremonies were performed.
At the moment, more than 60 thousand fragments of ceramics, shell products, slate, obsidian and jade, brought from the territory of modern Guatemala, have already been removed from the tunnel, for the entrance to which a special well was dug.
According to historians INAH, the tunnel was built long before the city itself and is a contemporary of the previously excavated gigantic structure, which, apparently, was the arena for the ball game, so beloved by the pre-Columbian Indians. Gomez hopes that the discovery of the tombs will finally answer the question of who exactly lived in Teotihuacan.