In an odd turn of events, experts in Mexico have said they intend to rebury a strange archaeological monument discovered on the outskirts of Mexico City, concealing a significant historical find until an unspecified future.
Archaeologists from the INAH discovered 11 pre-Hispanic symbols depicted on the side walls of the tunnel at Ecatepec, which is a component of a colonial dike system from the 17th century known as the Albarradón de Ecatepec.
An INAH representative reportedly stated per Mexico News Daily that pictures found on the 8.4-meter (27.6-foot) tunnel's walls included petroglyphs, stucco relief panels, a battle shield, a bird of prey's head, and a "paper decoration." The INAH archaeologists also discovered a teocalli or temple, engraved into the main stone of the arch entry dedicated to the rain god Tláloc.
Albarradón de Ecatepec: History of Flood-Control System
The find, according to a report by ScienceAlert, is a tunnel that was formerly a component of the Albarradón de Ecatepec, a flood-control system of rivers and dikes built thousands of years ago to protect the ancient city of Tenochtitlan from rising waters.
However, during the early stages of Spanish colonialism, the conquistadors failed to appreciate the ingenuity of this indigenous infrastructure and destroyed several pre-Hispanic structures.
However, when recurrent floods devastated colonial Mexico City, the Albarradón de Ecatepec and many other flood-control systems of similar ilk were built or modified in the early 1600s.
In the Albarradón de Ecatepec, archaeologists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH) discovered such a building in 2019. The tunnel they discovered retained a peculiar fusion of the cultures that constructed it.
This little tunnel entrance, measuring just 8.4 meters (27.5 feet) in length, was a modest component of the massive Albarradón de Ecatepec monument, which was built by several indigenous laborers and covered a total of 4 kilometers (2.5 miles).
Even though it was just a tiny number, finding so many pre-Hispanic glyphs in the building was noteworthy and unexpected.
There were a total of eleven symbols discovered, including pictures of a war shield, raindrops, a bird of prey, and several others.
The symbols inside the tunnel are said to have been constructed by non-Hispanic residents of Ecatepec and Chiconautla who helped construct the Albarradón de Ecatepec.
Reburying the Odd Tunnel
The team was able to show that the road was not built using pre-Hispanic methods but rather semicircular arches and andesite voussoirs, stone and ashlar master lines, lime and sand mortars, and a floor on the upper part. In 2019, researchers said they need to understand the road's construction system.
Sadly, this amazing, centuries-old fusion of Aztec and Spanish cultural elements was never turned into a public exhibit so that others might see it and analyze it.
Due to a shortage of funding to properly build the exhibit and preserve the stunning structure, researchers from INAH revealed last year that the tunnel part will need to be reburied once more.
The coronavirus outbreak, which has compelled the government to redirect attention and resources to health care, is, according to ABC News, the reason for the decision to rebury the site.
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