Teotihuacan's Feathered Serpent Temple yielded two distinct discoveries: a mass grave at the temple's base and a sealed tunnel beneath it. The grave contained more than 200 people; some had their hands bound, and military-style clothing was present. It was a pit burial, not a symmetrical arrangement built into the pyramid's foundation. Work on the tunnel began in 2003 after flooding exposed damage at its blocked entrance. Jade or greenstone objects, shell offerings and pyrite were recovered, while pyrite dust would have glittered in torchlight. Small amounts of mercury—not pools—were reported in the terminal chamber. Researchers interpret the chamber as an underworld microcosm; the video argues that its mercury represented underworld rivers and its glittering pyrite created an underground sky. A cave predating the Pyramid of the Sun was also found beneath it, and the city grid is rotated about 15.5 degrees from the cardinal axes.
Teotihuacan: mass grave and sealed tunnel at Feathered Serpent Temple
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Key facts
- More than 200 people were found in a mass grave at the foot of the Temple of the Feathered Serpent, separate from the tunnel; some had their hands bound and military-style clothing was present.
- Reports do not describe the burial as a symmetrical arrangement built into the pyramid's foundation.
- The roughly 100-metre tunnel was uncovered during excavations beginning in 2003 after water damage exposed its blocked entrance. It had apparently been sealed in antiquity.
- Reported finds include jade or greenstone objects, shell offerings, pyrite objects and pyrite dust coating the walls and floor.
- Only small amounts or traces of liquid mercury were reported in the terminal chamber, not pools.
- Researchers interpret the chamber as an underworld microcosm. The video argues that the mercury represented underworld rivers and the pyrite glitter resembled stars.
- Archaeologists found a cave predating the Pyramid of the Sun beneath it. The video interprets the cave as a passage between the living world and the underworld.
- Teotihuacan's grid is rotated about 15.5 degrees from the cardinal axes; proposed horizon or celestial alignments remain interpretations.
Sources
New Tunnel Discovered under Ancient Pyramideducation.nationalgeographic.org
... tunnels that have been discovered recently, like the tunnel that was found under the Temple of the Plumed Serpent. While no one has been ...
Teotihuacan: Ciudadela - The Metropolitan Museum of Artmetmuseum.org
Additionally, the tunnel beneath the Feathered Serpent Pyramid shows watermarks, indication that the plaza of the Ciudadela may have been ...
Archaeologists Explore the Tunnel below the Pyramid of the ... - PBSpbs.org
The 3D image shows the tunnel continuing in a straight path, directly to the Pyramid of the Feathered Serpent which stands at the very center of the city. The ...
50000 artifacts found in tunnel under Teotihuacan templethehistoryblog.com
When last we saw the tunnel underneath the Temple of the Feathered Serpent in Teotihuacan, the remote vehicle Tláloc II-TC had forged 65 ...
The Tunnel Below the Pyramid of the Feathered Serpent | Season 15pbs.org
Archaeologists explore the tunnel below the Pyramid of the Feathered Serpent.
Teotihuacansmarthistory.org
The temple stands out for its sculptural ornamentation depicting the feathered serpent, The feathered serpent is associated with water imagery and is depicted ...
Temple of the Feathered Serpent, Teotihuacanen.wikipedia.org
The burials, like the structure, are dated to between 150 and 200 CE. als was identified as a nose pendant resembling a “butterfly” shape.
THE TEMPLE OF QUETZALCOATL, TEOTIHUACANcambridge.org
by TD Price · 2021 · Cited by 11 — The females were buried in groups of eight, All were buried in mass graves at the periphery and inside the Feathered Serpent Pyramid during its ...
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