Beneath Teotihuacan’s Temple of the Feathered Serpent, a roughly 100-metre tunnel was discovered in 2003 after a sinkhole opened. It had been intentionally sealed about 1,800 years earlier and took over a decade to excavate. The passage held more than 100 artifacts and offerings—not 100,000—including jade, obsidian, seashells and carved statues. Pyrite made the walls glitter. A separate tunnel found in 2015 yielded jaguar and eagle remains, greenstone spheres and traces of mercury. No royal tomb was found in the 2003 passage, which was re-closed and remains accessible only to specialists. 🌌
Sealed Teotihuacan tunnel held more than 100 offerings for 1,800 years
MexicoGeneral
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Key facts
- A roughly 100-metre (330-foot) tunnel beneath the Temple of the Feathered Serpent at Teotihuacan was discovered in 2003 after a sinkhole opened.
- The passage had been intentionally sealed about 1,800 years earlier and took more than a decade to excavate.
- It contained more than 100 artifacts and offerings—not 100,000—including jade, obsidian, seashells and carved statues.
- Powdered pyrite on the walls created a glittering, sky-like effect.
- Jaguar and eagle remains, greenstone spheres and traces of mercury came from a separate tunnel discovered beneath the temple in 2015.
- No royal tomb was found in the 2003 passage, which was re-closed after investigation and remains accessible only to specialists.
Sources
Temple of the Feathered Serpent, Teotihuacanen.wikipedia.org
In late 2003 a tunnel beneath the Temple of the Feathered Serpent was accidentally discovered by Sergio Gómez Chávez and Julie Gazzola, -foot-wide sinkhole ...
Lakes of mercury and human sacrificestheguardian.com
In 2003, a tunnel was discovered beneath the Feathered Serpent pyramid in the ruins of Teotihuacan, the ancient city in Mexico. Undisturbed for ...
Archaeologists Explore the Tunnel below the Pyramid of the Feathered ...pbs.org
Chavez and his colleagues discover a tunnel at the Teotihuacán site that continues in a straight path, directly to the Pyramid of the Feathered Serpent
Teotihuacanen.wikipedia.org
Teotihuacan – Temple of the Feathered Serpent – architectural detail to the right of the steps. In late 2003 a tunnel beneath the Temple of the Feathered ...
Teotihuacan: Ciudadelametmuseum.org
The Feathered Serpent Pyramid and Ciudadela (ca. 150–250 CE) comprise a monumental architectural complex of Teotihuacan, Mexico (ca. 100 BCE–800 CE)
View of the tunnel under the Temple of the Feathered ...researchgate.net
In 2003, flooding occurred in the Ciudadela (Citadel) of Teotihuacan and saltpeter began to damage the Temple of the Feathered Serpent.
A Secret Tunnel Found in Mexico May Finally Solve the ...smithsonianmag.com
The chance discovery beneath a nearly 2,000-year-old pyramid leads to the heart of a lost civilization · The heads of feathered serpents and the god Tlaloc peer ...
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