Discovery Of Tunnel To The “Underworld” In Teotihuacan Shocks Archeologists

Science has taught us about the layers of the earth. But can you imagine what the “underworld” really looks like? There is a tunnel that was discovered by archeologists and they believe this leads to the underworld.

It all started with heavy rain. A heavy rainstorm swept through the ancient city of Teotihuacan in the fall of 2003. And as the water turned dirt into mud, then mud into sludge, the city revealed more of her secrets.

Sergio Gomez was one of the archaeologists working on the site. After the heavy rains, he found the next morning a three-foot wide sinkhole. And this sinkhole leads to a sealed tunnel under one of the temples. This tunnel runs through one of the ancient city’s most prominent structures. – The Temple of the Plumed Serpent.

The Temple of the Plumed Serpent is only one of the three mega structures. The other two are the 200-foot Pyramid of the Sun and the smaller Pyramid of the Moon.

Archeologists believe that this could be older than the Aztecs.

The city is located on the north-south axis with a wide boulevard, the Avenue of the Dead, that runs down the middle. There is only one explanation for this layout – the place where men become gods.

And this time, another secret is revealed. A team from Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History was excavating the large central square next to the Pyramid of the Moon. That’s when they discovered a hollow space underground. Since they are aware that the Temple of the Plumed Serpent has the same tunnel, they believe that the cavity they discovered is man-made as well.

So what are they waiting for? Why can’t they just start digging and find out where this tunnel really leads to?

You see, archaeologists can’t just dig. Just like what they have done in the Temple of the Plumed Serpent, archaeologists should have a good hypothesis first and acquire permits in order to see what’s underneath the city.

While not being able to do that just yet, the team used a radar that can penetrate the ground. This way, they could map the structures below the city. And they discovered that the tunnel is long. It spans the distance between the center of the square to the pyramid.

And now, archaeologists believe that it’s a representation of the underworld.

Archaeologist Verónica Ortega who leads the conservation project of the Plaza de la Luna (the square near the pyramid), said that “The finding confirms that Teotihuacans reproduced the same pattern of tunnels associated with their great monuments, whose function had to be the emulation of the underworld.”

Nobody has ever accessed the tunnels yet. However, it is mapped to be 10-meters deep underground. These experts believe that there are artifacts under the square.

The Pyramid of the Moon is known for human sacrifices, given the human remains discovered on the site. However, Ortega pointed out that the newly-discovered tunnel might have been used purely for rituals, especially for ceremonies around agricultural cycles.

Teotihuacan was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage site back in 1987. Then the city was first excavated in 1884. However, the first systematic mapping of the city was only done during the 1960s.

There is no doubt that with this new discovery, there will be more to come in the future…