Archaeologists conducted the first exploration of ancient ruins in Mexico using a robot. The device was able to penetrate a tunnel 2,000 years old, running under the temple in Teotihuacan, and showed that it was hiding a secret passage
The 4-meter-wide corridor was bricked up by the locals between 200 and 250. The archaeologists lowered a remotely controlled and camera-operated self-propelled vehicle into it to check whether the corridor was safe for people. A robot measuring 30 cm, named "Tlaloque 1" in honor of the Aztec god of rain and thunder Tlaloc, filmed a narrow passage: at the very beginning, the tunnel was littered with debris almost to the ceiling. The footage filmed by the robot was presented Wednesday at the National Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico.
The robot that helped explore the tunnel is similar to the device used by scientists in Egypt. In 2002, a similar robot helped archaeologists discover a hidden door and room in the Great Pyramid, built by Pharaoh Cheops 4,000 years ago. But, according to Mexican archaeologists, such a robot was first used for research in Mexico, and possibly throughout America.
Mysterious tunnel
Archaeologist Sergio Gomez said that the footage allowed them to see the vaulted ceiling of the tunnel, created by the skilled craftsmen of Teotihuacan, a city that lies north of Mexico City. “The passage is about 100 meters long, carved into the rock formations, and in some places you can see the traces of tools used by the inhabitants of the ancient city,” said Gomez.
Well-processed stone blocks and a smooth vaulted ceiling testify that the tunnel could not have been a natural formation, it was created by people. According to researchers, it may lead to a burial chamber. Archaeologists hope to clear the hole leading into the passage and get inside by late November or early December.
The researchers found the entrance to the tunnel back in July, when they were making test pits. Using GPR, archaeologists found out that the corridor runs at a depth of 12 m underground and ends somewhere under the Quetzalcoatl temple. At the same time, scientists discovered a room that is connected to a tunnel. Historians suggest that there may be burials of the early rulers of Teotihuacan.
Burial of unknown rulers
If the assumptions of archaeologists are confirmed, then this will become one of the most important finds on the territory of the abandoned city. After all, the social structure of Teotihuacan still remains a mystery to scientists, although the ruins of the ancient city have been studied for more than 100 years, and the pyramids of the Sun and Moon are known all over the world as well as the Egyptian ones. Until now, archaeologists have not found any image of any ruler, or his burial. Therefore, Teotihuacan stands apart from all other pre-Hispanic large cities, where the rulers were for the most part deified by the locals.
According to Gomes, scientists set out to find the burial of the local ruler for a long time, and in 2009 they began to lay numerous exploration pits in the city. And it was in this way that they discovered the entrance to the walled up tunnel.
Promotional video:
Before the ancient inhabitants sealed the passage, a huge number of sacrifices were brought into the tunnel - more than 50 thousand objects made of jade, stone, shells and clay, including ceramic goblets, which have no analogues even in Teotihuacan.
The architectural complex, which includes pyramids, squares, temples and wide streets, was once the center of a city with a population of over 100,000, and possibly the most powerful in Mesoamerica. Scientists know that the city was founded about 2500 years ago, and 2100 years ago began its peak, but they still have no information about its rulers. By the time the Aztecs came here around 1300, the city had already been abandoned. It was the Aztecs who gave him the name Teotihuacan, which means "the place where people become gods."