Archaeologists worked at a demolished supermarket in Mexico City. By digging 10 feet, they found a temple that had been created more than 650 years ago, according to experts Wednesday.
At first, archaeologists discovered some pieces of pottery and human remains on the site.
"This was expected," said Pedro Francisco Sanchez Nava, national archaeology coordinator for Mexico's National Anthropology and History Institute.
It was a circular platform that measured 36 feet in diameter, with a height of 4 feet. It rests in the shadow of a nearby shopping mall.
This site had been built so that prayers could be sent to the god of wind, Ehecatl-Quetzalcoatl. There are plans to not only preserve it but also make it visible through a big viewing window.
Deeper that this was the temple, which gave some insight into the worshipping habits of the Mexica-Tlatelolca people. According to Sanchez, there were a number of offerings that included a baby that showed no signs of trauma, some bones from birds, "obsidian, maguey cactus spines, and ceramic figurines of monkeys and duck bills."
Most of the temple's white stucco has not been destroyed.
The temple is situated within a huge, ceremonial site in the capital's Tlatelolco neighborhood, though most of it cannot be seen. Much of that perimeter is invisible, covered by an urban landscape.
The recently uncovered temple is situated only a few yards away from the spot in which Mexican soldiers massacred protesting students in 1968.
