| BARRIOZONA |
| Bilingual Community Expression Published by the Hispanic Institute of Social Issues |
| Emerging Marvel |
| An impressive monolith surfaces in the heart of Mexico City, bringing a new light of glory of the buried Aztec Empire. |
| MEXICO |
| The Flight of the Eagle Series |
A BARRIOZONA Exclusive
| By Eduardo Barraza Images by William Gonzalez / BARRIOZONA and by Mauricio Marat / INAH |
In 1978 it was the Coyolxauhqui (koh-yohl-
SHAHU-kee) Stone. In the year 2006, the
Templo Mayor or Great Temple’s
archeological area in downtown Mexico City
has been shaken again by the marvelous
discovery of a huge large block of stone.
What is considered to be an altar dedicated
to a feared deity in the Aztec pantheon, and
recognizable character in Mexico’s
contemporary culture, was partially
unearthed six years after anthropologic
work began in a lot contiguous to the
temple. A new monolith of astonishing
aspect has come into light in this famous,
historic, and archeological block.
SHAHU-kee) Stone. In the year 2006, the
Templo Mayor or Great Temple’s
archeological area in downtown Mexico City
has been shaken again by the marvelous
discovery of a huge large block of stone.
What is considered to be an altar dedicated
to a feared deity in the Aztec pantheon, and
recognizable character in Mexico’s
contemporary culture, was partially
unearthed six years after anthropologic
work began in a lot contiguous to the
temple. A new monolith of astonishing
aspect has come into light in this famous,
historic, and archeological block.
On the concrete of many streets of Mexico’s Centro Histórico or Downtown’s Historic District, transients walk
surrounded by old buildings representing, not the Aztec’s capital, but the Spanish colony. Implicitly, pedestrians
realize that some feet below, underneath the symbols of conquest, the ruins of a devastated and ancient city
remain covered by centuries of darkness, anonymity, and enigma. In the most profound mystery, vestiges of the
empire that once dominated most of Mesoamerica represent an underground, but not forgotten city. For Mexicans
or anyone walking on the narrow downtown streets of this populated metropolis, being aware of this duality –a city
on the surface, and a city below– is an awesome experience.
In the search for a buried empire, the incessant work of archeologists in the core of what used to be the Aztec’s
ceremonial hub, continues to unearth amazement and awe. Beneath downtown Mexico City, the ruins of majestic
Tenochtitlan (teh-noach-TEE-tlahn,) secretly breathe in an anonymous darkness, demanding daylight and
acknowledgment. History never dies; it just waits for the propitious moment in time. And time for a new discovery of
an old grandeur has come.
The preamble for this new major unearthing occurred in the year 2000, when a unique set of offerings for Tlaloc
(tlah'-lohk,) god of rain and fertility in Aztec belief, were found at the bottom of the steps of the Templo Mayor, in
the lot where an important property stood once. The house –known as “Casa de la Ajaracas”– was situated right in
front of the temple, and built during the Spanish colony period at the same spot where two main causeways led
Aztecs to the towns of Tlacopan (Tacuba) and Iztapalapa.
The lot of the Ajaracas house was originally a plot, subdivided later. The house had various owners, and at the
beginning of the XX Century, it was inhabited by Guillermo de Heredia, a renowned architect. The property was
declared a historic monument and remodeled between 1931 and 1932, but in 1985, a strong earthquake in Mexico
City damaged it so badly, that authorities condemned it and demolished it in 1993.*
Before 2000’s exceptional discovery, the City’s government had ambitious plans to build a new City Mayor’s office
complex in this lot, located in the number 38 of Guatemala Republic Street in downtown Mexico City. The project
was called off when seven religious offerings were found there. One of these offerings, a set classified by
archeologists as Ofrenda 102, turned out to be a unique collection of bags made of amate paper (Mexican bark
paper,) a paper and wood headdress, copal figures, masks, a garment in the shape of a vest, a tunic (perhaps
priestly,) and other textiles. These objects were interpreted as being related to the worship of Tlaloc
Six years later, in the spring of 2006, while some remodeling works were being done in the property of the “Casa
de las Ajaracas,” more discoveries were made. This time, archeologists exposed, among the most relevant, two
serpent heads carved on a wall. The discovery was determined to be part of the front side of platform number 6 of
the northwest section of the Templo Mayor.
Then, in the first week of October, the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH) announced that in the
area surrounding the Ajaracas, archeologists had made a major breakthrough since the last 28 years. An
impressive and unique Mexica (may-SHEE-kah) altar depicting Tlaloc and another still unidentified deity**, perhaps
related to rituals of Aztec agriculture, was found after they removed a platform. In comparison with other altars
previously found, the newly unearthed altar was described as exceptional, due to its characteristics: its two
adjacent friezes (that is, two decorative elements contiguous to each other.)
The pre-Hispanic monolith, which current estimated, visible dimensions are 11.48 by 13.12 feet, and 27,226.8
pounds in weight, approximately, it is still mostly buried. On October 12, ten days after its discovery, specialists
from the Urban Archeology Program (PAU) announced that the monolith has at least four fractures, and that they
noticed it is also entirely carved on its sides. According to the information provided by the PAU, the great stone
corresponds to the period of Moctezuma I (mock-teh-ZU-ma; also known as Montezuma I,) the sixth Aztec tlatoani
(head of government, the army, and high priest) who ruled from 1440 to 1469. Thus, the altar could have been
created approximately 450 to 500 years ago, and is made of stone, and filled with rocks and clay.
The discovery of the altar doesn’t come as a surprise, since surprises have been the rule rather than the exception
within the framework of the Templo Mayor Project. Aztecs were deeply religious people, a religiousness reflected in
their monumental works, particularly the Templo Mayor, which was the focal point of their spiritual life, and also the
biggest structure of their capital, Tenochtitlan. Awfully disturbed with the bloody human sacrifices that took place
there, Spanish conquistadors led by Hernan Cortes, destroyed most of the temple, knocked down the idols, and
proceeded to raze the city in 1521.
Contemporary archeological findings have evidenced that the destruction perpetrated was not systematic, but
more concerned with obliterating native beliefs and customs, and with replacing or concealing symbols and
structures as a way of imposing the Spanish political, religious and social systems. New buildings were built on top
of semi-destroyed Aztec structures. Much was lost, but Cortes, his army, and the enslaved Aztecs, within a total
new context of dominance and conquest, and in a dramatic shift of status quo, left many remnants buried under the
new buildings of what became Nueva España, or New Spain. Many leftovers of Aztec grandeur would remain hidden
under the streets of a new society. Today’s Mexico City is built on top of the ruins of Tenochtitlan.
Álvaro Barrera Rivera, supervisor of the Urban Archeology Program of the Templo Mayor Project, cited an important
fact on October 14, noting that an excavation was made in the pre-Hispanic era, precisely toward the end of Stage
VII (1502-1521,) in the site where the monolith was found. According to Barrera’s explanation, it seems that the
altar was placed as a cover for the hole. “The most probable factor is that something was deposited in the hole,
and the floor was placed on top of the piece; that is to say, before the Aztec’s contact with the Spaniards, not even
the Mexicas themselves could see the sculpture, because it was never exposed. After the conquest, the piece was
not visible either, and that’s why it made it until our days- concludes Barrera.”
Relevant archeological findings of Tenochtitlan were found during the massive construction of the city subway,
known as Metro, which first phase was completed between June 1967 and November of 1970. The excavation of
the exact site of the Templo Mayor was organized eight years later, in 1978, after a ditch digger named Mario
Alberto Espejel Pérez, an employee of the Central Light and Power Company, accidentally hit with his shovel on
what he noticed was a carved stone. He was aware that during the first phase of the subway’s construction, many
discoveries from Aztec time came to light, but was at the same time unaware of the significance he helped unleash
when he found the carved rock. This decorated monolith in relief turned out to be the Coyolxauhqui Stone. The
finding of this extraordinary monument led to the full-blown excavation of the Great Temple.
Since the unearthing of Coyolxauhqui, the on-going archeological work in and around the area of the temple
became a familiar sight in downtown Mexico City. The magnitude of the newly discovered altar in front of the
Templo Mayor has brought an excitement not seen in almost three decades, paralleling the enthusiasm the god of
the moon’s stone surfacing arose in Mexico, twenty-eight years ago. The full details about the new monolith
discovered are still to come, but based on what they already can see and know, specialists augur another
breakthrough in learning and confirming ceremonial aspects of Aztec life, social customs, and spiritual and beliefs.
If what Álvaro Barrera supposes is confirmed, most likely Spanish conquerors missed the monolith, which
hypothetically may have prevented its destruction. Is there a slight possibility that the Aztecs themselves
deliberately hid it from the foreigners? Time and archeological work will most likely reveal the truth. However, it is
also a fact that Cortes and its soldiers thought that by burying and concealing them below their emerging New
Spain reign, the vestiges of Aztecs would be lost forever. In their destruction-construction mood, they announced
the sunset for a savage and feared tribe, and their own sunrise of Spanish dominium.
Hiding the symbols of Aztec splendor underneath a series of plots and other sites where they and their
descendants would eventually build their luxurious castles and homes, they probably considered it an almost
perfect conquest, where not too much evidence of their obliteration would be left behind. As if it would be
something destined, and precisely in one of these plots, an earthquake that occurred 21 years ago, condemned the
house situated there to demolition. This fortuitous event yielded the space and time for the emergence of an
unexpected monolith. Today, rescued from its unsuspected existence and in its cold inertia, this monumental stone
speaks of the greatness and defeat of a feared and admirable people.
surrounded by old buildings representing, not the Aztec’s capital, but the Spanish colony. Implicitly, pedestrians
realize that some feet below, underneath the symbols of conquest, the ruins of a devastated and ancient city
remain covered by centuries of darkness, anonymity, and enigma. In the most profound mystery, vestiges of the
empire that once dominated most of Mesoamerica represent an underground, but not forgotten city. For Mexicans
or anyone walking on the narrow downtown streets of this populated metropolis, being aware of this duality –a city
on the surface, and a city below– is an awesome experience.
In the search for a buried empire, the incessant work of archeologists in the core of what used to be the Aztec’s
ceremonial hub, continues to unearth amazement and awe. Beneath downtown Mexico City, the ruins of majestic
Tenochtitlan (teh-noach-TEE-tlahn,) secretly breathe in an anonymous darkness, demanding daylight and
acknowledgment. History never dies; it just waits for the propitious moment in time. And time for a new discovery of
an old grandeur has come.
The preamble for this new major unearthing occurred in the year 2000, when a unique set of offerings for Tlaloc
(tlah'-lohk,) god of rain and fertility in Aztec belief, were found at the bottom of the steps of the Templo Mayor, in
the lot where an important property stood once. The house –known as “Casa de la Ajaracas”– was situated right in
front of the temple, and built during the Spanish colony period at the same spot where two main causeways led
Aztecs to the towns of Tlacopan (Tacuba) and Iztapalapa.
The lot of the Ajaracas house was originally a plot, subdivided later. The house had various owners, and at the
beginning of the XX Century, it was inhabited by Guillermo de Heredia, a renowned architect. The property was
declared a historic monument and remodeled between 1931 and 1932, but in 1985, a strong earthquake in Mexico
City damaged it so badly, that authorities condemned it and demolished it in 1993.*
Before 2000’s exceptional discovery, the City’s government had ambitious plans to build a new City Mayor’s office
complex in this lot, located in the number 38 of Guatemala Republic Street in downtown Mexico City. The project
was called off when seven religious offerings were found there. One of these offerings, a set classified by
archeologists as Ofrenda 102, turned out to be a unique collection of bags made of amate paper (Mexican bark
paper,) a paper and wood headdress, copal figures, masks, a garment in the shape of a vest, a tunic (perhaps
priestly,) and other textiles. These objects were interpreted as being related to the worship of Tlaloc
Six years later, in the spring of 2006, while some remodeling works were being done in the property of the “Casa
de las Ajaracas,” more discoveries were made. This time, archeologists exposed, among the most relevant, two
serpent heads carved on a wall. The discovery was determined to be part of the front side of platform number 6 of
the northwest section of the Templo Mayor.
Then, in the first week of October, the Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia (INAH) announced that in the
area surrounding the Ajaracas, archeologists had made a major breakthrough since the last 28 years. An
impressive and unique Mexica (may-SHEE-kah) altar depicting Tlaloc and another still unidentified deity**, perhaps
related to rituals of Aztec agriculture, was found after they removed a platform. In comparison with other altars
previously found, the newly unearthed altar was described as exceptional, due to its characteristics: its two
adjacent friezes (that is, two decorative elements contiguous to each other.)
The pre-Hispanic monolith, which current estimated, visible dimensions are 11.48 by 13.12 feet, and 27,226.8
pounds in weight, approximately, it is still mostly buried. On October 12, ten days after its discovery, specialists
from the Urban Archeology Program (PAU) announced that the monolith has at least four fractures, and that they
noticed it is also entirely carved on its sides. According to the information provided by the PAU, the great stone
corresponds to the period of Moctezuma I (mock-teh-ZU-ma; also known as Montezuma I,) the sixth Aztec tlatoani
(head of government, the army, and high priest) who ruled from 1440 to 1469. Thus, the altar could have been
created approximately 450 to 500 years ago, and is made of stone, and filled with rocks and clay.
The discovery of the altar doesn’t come as a surprise, since surprises have been the rule rather than the exception
within the framework of the Templo Mayor Project. Aztecs were deeply religious people, a religiousness reflected in
their monumental works, particularly the Templo Mayor, which was the focal point of their spiritual life, and also the
biggest structure of their capital, Tenochtitlan. Awfully disturbed with the bloody human sacrifices that took place
there, Spanish conquistadors led by Hernan Cortes, destroyed most of the temple, knocked down the idols, and
proceeded to raze the city in 1521.
Contemporary archeological findings have evidenced that the destruction perpetrated was not systematic, but
more concerned with obliterating native beliefs and customs, and with replacing or concealing symbols and
structures as a way of imposing the Spanish political, religious and social systems. New buildings were built on top
of semi-destroyed Aztec structures. Much was lost, but Cortes, his army, and the enslaved Aztecs, within a total
new context of dominance and conquest, and in a dramatic shift of status quo, left many remnants buried under the
new buildings of what became Nueva España, or New Spain. Many leftovers of Aztec grandeur would remain hidden
under the streets of a new society. Today’s Mexico City is built on top of the ruins of Tenochtitlan.
Álvaro Barrera Rivera, supervisor of the Urban Archeology Program of the Templo Mayor Project, cited an important
fact on October 14, noting that an excavation was made in the pre-Hispanic era, precisely toward the end of Stage
VII (1502-1521,) in the site where the monolith was found. According to Barrera’s explanation, it seems that the
altar was placed as a cover for the hole. “The most probable factor is that something was deposited in the hole,
and the floor was placed on top of the piece; that is to say, before the Aztec’s contact with the Spaniards, not even
the Mexicas themselves could see the sculpture, because it was never exposed. After the conquest, the piece was
not visible either, and that’s why it made it until our days- concludes Barrera.”
Relevant archeological findings of Tenochtitlan were found during the massive construction of the city subway,
known as Metro, which first phase was completed between June 1967 and November of 1970. The excavation of
the exact site of the Templo Mayor was organized eight years later, in 1978, after a ditch digger named Mario
Alberto Espejel Pérez, an employee of the Central Light and Power Company, accidentally hit with his shovel on
what he noticed was a carved stone. He was aware that during the first phase of the subway’s construction, many
discoveries from Aztec time came to light, but was at the same time unaware of the significance he helped unleash
when he found the carved rock. This decorated monolith in relief turned out to be the Coyolxauhqui Stone. The
finding of this extraordinary monument led to the full-blown excavation of the Great Temple.
Since the unearthing of Coyolxauhqui, the on-going archeological work in and around the area of the temple
became a familiar sight in downtown Mexico City. The magnitude of the newly discovered altar in front of the
Templo Mayor has brought an excitement not seen in almost three decades, paralleling the enthusiasm the god of
the moon’s stone surfacing arose in Mexico, twenty-eight years ago. The full details about the new monolith
discovered are still to come, but based on what they already can see and know, specialists augur another
breakthrough in learning and confirming ceremonial aspects of Aztec life, social customs, and spiritual and beliefs.
If what Álvaro Barrera supposes is confirmed, most likely Spanish conquerors missed the monolith, which
hypothetically may have prevented its destruction. Is there a slight possibility that the Aztecs themselves
deliberately hid it from the foreigners? Time and archeological work will most likely reveal the truth. However, it is
also a fact that Cortes and its soldiers thought that by burying and concealing them below their emerging New
Spain reign, the vestiges of Aztecs would be lost forever. In their destruction-construction mood, they announced
the sunset for a savage and feared tribe, and their own sunrise of Spanish dominium.
Hiding the symbols of Aztec splendor underneath a series of plots and other sites where they and their
descendants would eventually build their luxurious castles and homes, they probably considered it an almost
perfect conquest, where not too much evidence of their obliteration would be left behind. As if it would be
something destined, and precisely in one of these plots, an earthquake that occurred 21 years ago, condemned the
house situated there to demolition. This fortuitous event yielded the space and time for the emergence of an
unexpected monolith. Today, rescued from its unsuspected existence and in its cold inertia, this monumental stone
speaks of the greatness and defeat of a feared and admirable people.
| The new "piece" in the archeological block |
NOTE: This article was prepared using information provided by Sam L. Bravo from the INAH Media Department, as well as
other sources such as magazines and books from the author’s personal library. HISI and BARRIOZONA are grateful to the
INAH and its staff for the valuable assistance received. Some of the images in the slide show are those of INAH’s
photographer Mauricio Marat.
* Information available regarding the history of the “Casa de las Ajaracas” is that of Manuel Velázquez from “México HOY.”
** Renowned Mexican archeologist Eduardo Matos Moctezuma, coordinator of the PAU, stated that after a conversation he
had with archeologist Leonardo López Luján in regards of the possible identity of the deity, “it is pointing to be a
representation of Tlaltecuhtli (tlal-te-KWa–tlee; earth lord.)
The work to rescue the monolith, in charge of the Urban Archeology Program, is being conducted by archeologists Alicia
Islas Domínguez, Gabino López Arenas, Alberto Diez Barroso y Ulises Lina Hernández, and it includes a interdisciplinary
team formed by biologists, geologists, restorers, topographers, artists, physical anthropologist, and of course,
archeologists. Contributing to this work also are Alfredo López Austin y Leonardo López Luján.
other sources such as magazines and books from the author’s personal library. HISI and BARRIOZONA are grateful to the
INAH and its staff for the valuable assistance received. Some of the images in the slide show are those of INAH’s
photographer Mauricio Marat.
* Information available regarding the history of the “Casa de las Ajaracas” is that of Manuel Velázquez from “México HOY.”
** Renowned Mexican archeologist Eduardo Matos Moctezuma, coordinator of the PAU, stated that after a conversation he
had with archeologist Leonardo López Luján in regards of the possible identity of the deity, “it is pointing to be a
representation of Tlaltecuhtli (tlal-te-KWa–tlee; earth lord.)
The work to rescue the monolith, in charge of the Urban Archeology Program, is being conducted by archeologists Alicia
Islas Domínguez, Gabino López Arenas, Alberto Diez Barroso y Ulises Lina Hernández, and it includes a interdisciplinary
team formed by biologists, geologists, restorers, topographers, artists, physical anthropologist, and of course,
archeologists. Contributing to this work also are Alfredo López Austin y Leonardo López Luján.
| Contact the Author |
| Part II |
| November 20th UPDATE: Discovered Monolith May Hide Burial Site Aztec Ruler |