MEXICO CITY, MEXICO—Live Science reports that charred remains of 2,000-year-old flower bouquets have been found in a tunnel under the pyramid at Teotihuacan’s Temple of the Feathered Serpent by a team of researchers led by Sergio Gómez-Chávez of Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History. The pyramid stood some 75 feet tall, while the deepest part of the tunnel was 59 feet below ground. Pottery, including a sculpture of the god Tlaloc, who is associated with rainfall and fertility, were found with the bouquets. A large amount of wood had been placed on top of the bouquets and pottery and set on fire, perhaps in a ritual associated with fertility, Gómez-Chávez explained. The researchers will attempt to identify the 40 flowers in one bouquet and the 60 flowers in the other in order to shed light on what took place in the tunnel. For more on the temple, go to "Mythological Mercury Pool," one of ARCHAEOLOGY's Top 10 Discoveries of 2015.
Charred Bouquets Recovered from Tunnel at Teotihuacan
News August 25, 2021
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