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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.
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.
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.
Copyright © 2009 Hispanic Institute of Social Issues
Grassroots Journalism
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An impressive monolith surfaces in the heart of Mexico City, bringing a new light of glory of the buried
Aztec Empire.
By Eduardo Barraza
BARRIOZONA
October 14, 2006
A Marvel Emerges in the Great Temple