Researchers reach the end of Teotihuacan tunnel

IT was sealed 2000 years ago, but researchers have finally reached the end of this tunnel. What they’ve found will unlock sacred secrets buried long ago.

A YEARS-LONG exploration of a tunnel sealed almost 2000 years ago at the ancient city of Teotihuacan has yielded thousands of relics and the discovery of three chambers that could hold more important finds.

Project leader Sergio Gomez said researchers recently reached the end of the 103m tunnel after meticulously working their way down its length, collecting relics from seeds to pottery to animal bones.

History’s mysteries ... The view of the mysterious temple from above.

And this illustration shows where the tunnel lies underground, 18m below the Temple of the Plumed Serpent.

A large offering found near the entrance to the chambers, some 18m below the Temple of the Plumed Serpent, suggests they could be the tombs of the city’s elite.

This sculpture was unearthed during the years-long archaeological dig.

“Because this is one of the most sacred places in all Teotihuacan, we believe that it could have been used for the rulers to ... acquire divine endowment allowing them to rule on the surface,” Gomez said.

At work ... Sergio Gomez’s team has spent years carefully excavating the site and will need another year to see inside the chambers at the end of the tunnel.

Unlike at other pre-Columbian ruins in Mexico, archaeologists have never found any remains believed to belong to Teotihuacan’s rulers. Such a discovery could help shine light on the leadership structure of the city, including whether rule was hereditary.

“We have not lost hope of finding that, and if they are there, they must be from someone very, very important,” Gomez said.

Incredible find ... These four stone sculptures and a jade ornament were among the relics uncovered in the excavation.

So far Gomez’s team has excavated only about 60 centimetres into the chambers. A full exploration will take at least another year.

Initial studies by the National Institute of Anthropology and History show the tunnel functioned until around A.D. 250, when it was closed off.

Relics of the past ... Pottery and animal bones were among the finds.

Teotihuacan long dominated central Mexico and had its apex between 100 B.C. and A.D. 750. It is believed to have been home to more than 100,000 people, but was abandoned before the rise of the Aztecs in the 14th century.

Significance ... Gomez believes the relics suggest important people are entombed in the chambers beyond the tunnel.

Today it is an important archaeological site on the outskirts of Mexico City and a major tourist draw known for its broad avenues and massive pyramids.