Templo Mayor · The Gold Beneath the City

The Aztecs saw an eagle standing on a cactus with a snake in its beak, and built their city there — the site of today’s Mexico City. The Templo Mayor at its centre was demolished by the Spanish, its stone used to build a church, and afterwards it lay buried under the city.

In 1978 electricians digging in the street struck a round stone carved with the image of a goddess. Excavation followed, and more than ten thousand offerings were recovered: masks, jade, coral, jaguar bones and human remains.

The site sits beside a metro station. Above is the cathedral; below is the temple that was pressed under it.

Historical Mysteries / Mexico City · Mexico / 1325