MEXICO PROTECTS ANCIENT TEMPLE WHILE HOTEL IS BUILT ABOVE

[Judi Lynn]

Jun 7, 6:33 PM EDT






AP Photo
A temple to the Aztec wind god Ehecatl lays unearthed
within the property of a hotel in Mexico City, Wednesday,
June 7, 2017. Plans to expand the hotel have been put
on hold after archaeologists unearthed a 1400's temple
to the Aztec wind god Ehecatl and a ceremonial ball
court under the property. (AP Photo/Marco Ugarte)


MEXICO CITY (AP) -- Plans to expand a hotel in Mexico City are on hold after archaeologists unearthed a 1400s-era temple to the Aztec wind god Ehecatl and a ceremonial ball court under the property.

The find could spark nightmares for any squeamish hotel guests: The carefully severed neck bones of 32 people were found in a ceremonial pit next to the ball court.

Archaeologist Eduardo Matos announced the find Wednesday from excavations conducted in 2009-2016.

The hotel owns the property and will be allowed to build above the ruins, using pilings carefully placed so the Aztec structures aren't disturbed. The round temple and the stair-like ball court will remain open below to the public.

Players were frequently sacrificed at the end of the ceremonial ball game.


http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/L/LT_MEXICO_ARCHAEOLOGY?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2017-06-07-18-33-55

(Short article, no more at link.)

[Judi Lynn]

1. Archaeologists discover Aztec ball court in heart of Mexico City

Wed Jun 7, 2017 | 10:11pm EDT


By David Alire Garcia | MEXICO CITY

The remains of a major Aztec temple and a ceremonial ball court have been discovered in downtown Mexico City, shedding new light on the sacred spaces of the metropolis that Spanish conquerors overran five centuries ago, archaeologists said on Wednesday.

The discoveries were made on a nondescript side street just behind the city's colonial-era Roman Catholic cathedral off the main Zocalo plaza on the grounds of a 1950s-era hotel.

The underground excavations reveal a section of what was the foundation of a massive, circular-shaped temple dedicated to the Aztec wind god Ehecatl and a smaller part of a ritual ball court, confirming accounts of the first Spanish chroniclers to visit the Aztec imperial capital, Tenochtitlan.

"Due to finds like these, we can show actual locations, the positioning and dimensions of each one of the structures first described in the chronicles," said Diego Prieto, head of Mexico's main anthropology and history institute.

More:
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mexico-archaeology-aztec-idUSKBN18Z05J?rpc=401&

[Judi Lynn]

2. Photo of another temple to Ehcatl, followed by one of the newly discovered one:

More mind-blowing circular pyramids, temples to Ehécatl at google images:
https://results.searchlock.com/search/?q=Ehecatl+temple+mexico+city&slr=1&tbm=isch&sr=pageredir-google&chnm=store