Author: Reuters
Publication: Yahoo News
Date: April 5, 2006
URL: http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060405/sc_nm/mexico_pyramid_dc
Archeologists have discovered a huge 1,500-year-old
pre-Hispanic pyramid in a working class district of Mexico City after digging
into a hill used every year to depict the crucifixion of Christ.
The unnamed pyramid has the same sized base
as the giant Pyramid of the Moon at the famous archeological site of Teotihuacan,
an hour's drive northeast of the capital, which is known as the "City
of the Gods" and is Mexico's biggest ancient city.
Archeologist Jesus Sanchez said on Wednesday
the latest find was built by the same people who constructed Teotihuacan between
A.D. 400 and 500, and has evidence that it was used for ceremonial purposes.
"The structure is protected because it
is beneath two feet of earth," Sanchez told a radio station.
But half the pyramid has been destroyed as
the hill has been used for decades every Easter for a gory re-enactment of
the crucifixion of Christ. The religious celebration is attended by hundreds
of thousands of believers.
Houses built illegally on one side of the
hill have also damaged the pyramid, which is about 60 feet tall, half the
height of the Pyramid of the Moon, said Sanchez, archeologist with the National
Institute of Anthropology and History.
The site will not be fully explored because
it is now considered a religious center in its own right, Sanchez said.
The north side of the pyramid opens out into
a large square, whose limits are defined by a low stone wall. On the south
side there is another small temple, with evidence of holes in the walls for
offerings to be placed.
The site overlooks a vast suburban neighborhood,
considered one of Mexico City's poorest and most dangerous. A periphery fence
is to be built around it to stop vehicles from entering and damaging it more.
The find is one of many examples in Mexico
of important pre-Hispanic sites that have become Catholic places of worship.
After the Spanish conquest, conquistadors and envoys of the church superimposed
their beliefs on indigenous life.
Churches were built atop ancient shrines and
pyramids in sites around Mexico, including Chalma and Cholula near Mexico
City. The Mexican capital's massive cathedral was built from stone from pyramids
flattened by the Spaniards.
