Place of the Dead: a network of underground tunnels found under Mexico temple

Archaeologists from the Lyobaa project have confirmed the presence of underground chambers and tunnels under a temple in Mexico. A valuable find was discovered under Mitla, the Zapotec "Place of the Dead."

The team of experts used advanced geophysical methods such as Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR), Electric Resistivity Tomography (ERT), and Seismic Noise Tomography. During the research, the scientists discovered a large void under the main altar in the church of San Pablo Apostol in Mitla and a network of tunnels extending in several directions, Heritage Daily writes.

According to historical data, Mitla is an archaeological site, the main religious center of the Zapotec people, located in the Oaxaca Valley in the modern state of Oaxaca in southern Mexico. Mitla, also known as Mixtlán in Náhuatl, means "Place of the Dead" or "Underworld" because it was a burial complex between 100 and 650 AD.

"This new discovery aligns with ancient accounts, including those of 17th-century Dominican Father Francisco de Burgoa, who described a labyrinth of chambers and tunnels beneath the site, considered by the ancient Zapotecs to be an entrance to the Underworld, or Lyobaa," said Lyobaa researchers.

The team of scientists also discovered other underground geophysical anomalies in the Calvario Group, the Arroyo Group, and the South Group of surface structures that may correspond to more unexplored chambers or tombs.

"Additionally, Ground Penetrating Radar revealed the potential remains of an earlier monumental stairway beneath the present floor level of the Palace in the Columns Group, with important implications for the chronology of the site," the researchers said in a statement.

The project intends to confirm the data with additional probes and archaeological excavations to determine the exact nature of the geophysical anomalies found.

Previous geological studies conducted by scientists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History, the National Autonomous University of Mexico, and the ARX Project Association have found evidence that Mitla was hit by a powerful seismic shift in the 15th century AD. That is why everything is now hidden underground.

It should be noted that San Pablo Villa de Mitla is located in the foothills of the Sierra Norte, in the extreme east of the Tlacolula Valley, a seismically active region. Not surprisingly, the scientists' analysis revealed that the subsoil in the Mitla area contains irregular layers consisting of sediments and materials transported by a massive landslide.

This confirms the research of geologist Víctor Hugo Garduño-Monroy, who had previously suggested that the Mitla settlement was buried under a large deposit of rock avalanches sometime in the Postclassic period (900-1520 AD).

Researchers believe that an earthquake of magnitude 6 or 7 probably caused a landslide in the Oaxaca Valley region. Apparently, this event had a decisive impact on the decline of this region.

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