Aztec leader's tomb found -

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Aztec leader's tomb found

MEXICO CITY - Mexican archaeologists using ground-penetrating radar have detected underground chambers they believe contain the remains of Emperor Ahuizotl, who ruled the Aztecs when Columbus landed in the New World. It would be the first tomb of an Aztec ruler ever found.


A stone monolith carved with a representation of Tlaltechutli,
the Aztec god of the earth, is seen in Mexico City. Mexican
archaeologists, using ground-penetrating radar, have detected
directly below the monolith, underground chambers they believe
contain the remains of Emperor Ahuizotl, who ruled the Aztecs
when Columbus landed in the New World


The find could provide an extraordinary window into Aztec civilization at its apogee. Ahuizotl (ah-WEE-zoh-tuhl), an empire-builder who extended the Aztecs' reach as far as Guatemala, was the last emperor to complete his rule before the Spanish Conquest.

Accounts written by Spanish priests suggest the area was used by the Aztecs to cremate and bury their rulers. But no tomb of an Aztec ruler has ever been found, in part because the Spanish conquerors built their own city atop the Aztec's ceremonial center, leaving behind colonial structures too historically valuable to remove for excavations.

One of those colonial buildings was so damaged in a 1985 earthquake that it had to be torn down, eventually giving experts their first chance to examine the site off Mexico City's Zocalo plaza, between the Metropolitan Cathedral and the ruins of the Templo Mayor pyramid.

Archaeologists told The Associated Press that they have located what appears to be a six-foot-by-six-foot entryway into the tomb about 15 feet below ground. The passage is filled with water, rocks and mud, forcing workers to dig delicately while suspended from slings. Pumps work to keep the water level down.

"We are doing it very, very slowly ... because the responsibility is very great and we want to register everything," said Leonardo Lopez Lujan, the lead government archaeologist on the project. "It's a totally new situation for us, and we don't know exactly what it will be like down there."

As early as this fall, they hope to enter the inner chambers

soraya

interesting article & topic!

halimijuliana

TQ Dexa ...

sephia_liza

Aztec Emperor抯 Tomb Discovered

Mexican archeologists believe they may have found the tomb of an Aztec Emperor, if so it would be the first imperial burial site of an Aztec leader ever to have been discovered.


[size=85%][ Archaeologist Eduardo Matos conducts a Nov. 16, 2006, press conference on the site of the Templo Mayor ruins, next to the recently discovered massive carving of the Goddess of the Underworld, Tlaltecuhtli. Matos is the country抯 premier archaeologist, and director of the Templo Mayor project, which oversees the study and excavation of the Aztec ruins in Mexico City. ]

Last October Xispas wrote about the discovery of major Aztec ruins in Mexico City, which included the unearthing of a gigantic carved stone slab. Since then archeologists have meticulously cleaned the monolithic carving, and have confirmed the relief sculpture as a representation of Tlaltecuhtli, Earth Goddess and ruler of the underworld. When the discovery was made in October, 2006, it was evident that it was an important find, but archeologists are now saying it may be one of most important ever made.

[size=85%][ This photo gives some idea as to the size of the monolithic stone carving of Tlaltecuhtli. The Goddess of the underworld is portrayed with feet and hands that are claws, used to drag the dead into the earth. From a skull-like face there emanates what appears to be a river of blood. Other carved depictions of the Goddess have shown flint knives jutting from the mouth. The highly detailed surface of the sculpture is decorated with skulls. ]

Archeologists believe the monolithic stone of the Earth Goddess may actually be a grave marker for Emperor Ahuizotl, who ruled the Aztec Empire from 1486 to 1502. At a Nov., 16th press conference, [url=http://www.amazon.com/gp/redirect.html?ie=UTF8&location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.amazon.com%2FMoctezumas-Mexico-Visions-Aztec-World%2Fdp%2F0870816764%2Fsr%3D1-1%2Fqid%3D1163798384%3Fie%3DUTF8%26s%3Dbooks&tag=theblackmoon-20&linkCode=ur2&camp=1789&creative=9325]Eduardo Matos[/url], the country抯 chief archeologist and director of all excavations of Aztec ruins in Mexico City, said, "We think this could be a gravestone covering the place where this ruler was laid to rest."


An archaeologist stands next to the gigantic stone carving, which is broken into several large pieces but is otherwise in very good condition. Buried for centuries, the carving cracked from the weight of the modern city built on top of it. ]

Ahuizotl was the father of Moctezuma, the sovereign overthrown by the Spanish invaders in their conquest of the Mexica/Aztec Empire that took place from 1519-1521. All previous stone carvings of Tlaltecuhtli have been found ritualistically buried face down in the earth - this is the first carving to be found face up. In the claw of her right foot is a carved representation of a rabbit and ten dots, the Aztec glyph for 10 Rabbit, or 1502 - the year of Emperor Ahuizotl抯 death. If archeologists are correct in thinking they抳e found an imperial burial chamber - then there are certainly many staggering discoveries that will soon come to light

tamadun Aztec ni kena banyak kajian..banyak yg boleh dapat kat sana..

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GRINDSAKHTANIC

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