MEXICO CITY, MEXICO—Project director Sergio Gomez of Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History announced that his team has completed the excavation of a 340-foot-long tunnel beneath the Temple of the Plumed Serpent at Teotihuacan. The tunnel, sealed some 1,800 years ago, contained seeds, pottery, sculptures, jewelry, shells, and animal bones. Its walls had been covered with a powder made from ground metallic minerals that, when lit by a torch, created a glittering effect reminiscent of the night sky. “Because this is one of the most sacred places in all Teotihuacan, we believe that it could have been used for the rulers to acquire divine endowment allowing them to rule on the surface,” Gomez told The Telegraph. His team will now excavate the chambers at the end of the tunnel, which may hold the remains of the city’s rulers. To read about recent Mesoamerican discoveries, see ARCHAEOLOGY's "Under Mexico City."
