During excavations of the Aztec Temple of Templo Major in the center of Mexico City, archaeologists have found thousands of fragments of human remains, as well as a tower of skulls.
The main find of archaeologists during the excavation of the largest Aztec temple Templo Major was a tower of skulls. So far, researchers have counted 650 "heads", while archaeologists have not yet reached the base of the tower.
The tower was found in one of the premises of the temple, dedicated to Huitzilopochtli - the Aztec god of the sun and war. According to the evidence that has survived to this day, such structures were supposed to instill fear in the Spanish conquerors.
Historians assumed that the skulls belonged to captured and executed soldiers, but later it turned out that the remains mainly belonged to women and children. Thus, another version was put forward: perhaps the tower is associated with rituals of human sacrifice. The Aztecs believed that the shed blood would fill the sun god with strength to fight the darkness, Reuters reported.