INAH opens underground temple to visitors

The National Institute of Anthropology and History ( INAH ) opened last week a new “window” from which visitors are able to see the remains of the Temple of Ehécatl-Quetzalcóatl in Tlatelolco.

INAH opens underground temple to visitors

(Photo: Mario Guzmán/ EFE)

The Temple is a circular structure discovered in 2014 which can now be seen from the parking lot of a shopping center in the Ricardo Flores Magón avenue in Mexico City .

This is one of other archaeological findings in Tlatelolco, including the discovery of 32 human burials and several Ehécatl statuettes.

INAH opens underground temple to visitors

(Photo: Mario Guzmán/ EFE)

The Temple of Ehécatl-Quetzalcóatl was found by INAH researchers when “El Sardinero” supermarket was demolished to build a new shopping center in Tlatelolco .

Thus far, only a section of the structure is visible, given that the rest is currently beneath the Flores Magón avenue.

INAH opens underground temple to visitors

(Photo: Juan Carlos Reyes García/EL UNIVERSAL)

According to archaeologist Eduardo Matos Moctezuma, this is the third temple found in Tlatelolco built in honor of the god of wind. This fact is reminiscent of the area in Mexico City center – the area where ancient Tenochtitlán was located – where three similar temples have also been found.

The remains are visible through the glass windows placed in Flores Magón avenue or from the underground parking lot of the shopping center. Access to the site, however, is restricted to guided tours only and after a prior notice to the Tlatelolco Archaeological Site administration. Site visits are free.

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