Mexican archaeologists talked about the ruins of Aztec buildings, discovered during excavations in the very center of the capital. A temple to the god of the winds and a ball court were found behind the Mexico City Cathedral, north of the city's main square.
Until 1985, this place was a hotel that collapsed during a catastrophic earthquake. During the analysis of the rubble, the presence of ancient buildings was discovered, but full-fledged archaeological research of this place was only possible in the 21st century. The finds, which were presented to the press in early June, are the result of seven years of excavation by the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) under the Mexico City Urban Archeology Program (PAU).
The remains of the grandiose temple of the god Ehecatl, the Aztec deity of the winds, appeared before the public. Since he was considered one of the incarnations of Quetzalcoatl, he was often referred to by the double name Eekatl-Quetzalcoatl. The temple was built during the reign of Emperor Auisotl (1486 - 1502), the predecessor of Montezuma II. So the building had to stand for only a little more than a decade and a half before it was destroyed by the troops of Hernan Cortes, who broke into Tenochtitlan in November 1519.
Remains of the temple of Eekatl
The base of the temple is a rectangular platform 34 - 38 meters long. There was a two-tier round building on it, the diameter of the lower tier is 18 meters, the top of the lower tier is a 1.1 meter wide track. A significant part of the white plaster that covered the structure survived. The platform and circular structures together were about four meters high. According to the head of the excavation Raul Barrera, this is only part of the temple destroyed by the Spaniards. And the expert on Aztec archeology Eduardo Matos suggests that the upper part of the temple looked like a coiled snake, and its nostrils served as an entrance for the priests.
Interestingly, in 2016 another temple of Eekatl was found in Mexico City, on the site of a demolished supermarket in the urban area of Tlatelolco. This temple is older, it was built in the XIV century, but smaller in size. The circular platform on which he stood is 11 meters in diameter and 1.2 meters high. Several graves were found at the eastern entrance to the temple.
A characteristic feature of the temples of Eekatl was their round shape. Both the temple at Tlatelolco and the temple of this god in the ancient city of Kalishtlahuaca were round. Raul Barrera says that the temple, found in the center of Mexico City, stood out significantly from the surrounding rectangular structures of ancient Tenochtitlan.
Six meters to the south of the excavated temple, there is another interesting find - a site for a ritual ball game. In its northern part there are two stone staircases in four steps, which led to the temple of Eekatl. In the south, the site is adjoined by backward-tilted stone walls, which served as tribunes for the spectators among the Aztecs.
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Ball court wall
Under the stairs, archaeologists have found traces of human sacrifice. There were many sets of cervical vertebrae articulated in a natural anatomical position; other parts of the body were not preserved. The bones belong to 32 boys, from babies to teenagers. Bone marks indicate that they were all decapitated, which is why scientists believe that children were sacrificed.
Cervical vertebrae found under the north stairs
Head cut marks
The finds in the center of Mexico City are interesting in themselves, but scientists say they are important also because they provide an opportunity to understand the location of buildings in Tenochtitlan on the eve of the conquest. “Through these findings, we can establish the actual locations and dimensions of each of the structures mentioned in the chronicles,” said INAH Director Diego Prieto. Excavations around the temple and the ball court are still ongoing. After their completion, a museum object will be created at this place.