Archaeologists in Mexico City have uncovered the remains of an Aztec palace complex just metres beneath the city's historic centre. The discovery, made during renovations to a building behind the Metropolitan Cathedral, includes a large skull rack known as a tzompantli and an ancient ball court.
The finds are part of ongoing excavations by the Urban Archaeology Program (PAU), led by Raúl Barrera Rodríguez, which has been working since 1991 to uncover the ancient Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán. The city, which fell to Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés in 1521, lies buried beneath modern Mexico City.
In 2017, archaeologists uncovered a 35-metre-long skull rack with nearly 700 skulls, as well as a ball court where the Aztecs played a ritual ball game. Earlier this year, sacrificial offerings including the skeleton of a boy dressed as the war god Huitzilopochtli were found near the Templo Mayor, along with jaguar bones and coral.
Since 2018, public tours have been available to view the Temple of Tonatiuh, the sun god, located 7 metres below the Metropolitan Cathedral. The tours run three times a week and help fund the church's upkeep.
