The mystery surrounding the ancient city of Teotihuacan in Mexico continues to unfold after archaeologists found a hidden tunnel beneath the Pyramid of the Moon that they believe was built to represent the “passage to the underworld.”
Over 2000 years ago in 300 BC, Mesoamerican peoples began to develop larger settlements and built this great city that had once been home to more than 125,000 inhabitants, making it the sixth-largest city in the world at the time.
Panoramic view of Teotihuacan. Image via Wikimedia.
“It was the largest city anywhere in the Western Hemisphere before the 1400s,” Arizona State University archaeologist Robert Cowgill told National Geographic. “It had thousands of residential compounds and scores of pyramid-temples comparable to the largest pyramids of Egypt.”
Indeed, along the famed Avenue of the Dead one can find the Pyramid of the Sun, which is the largest structure in Teotihuacan and the Pyramid of the Moon, the second-largest located at the end of the road.
Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan as seen from the Pyramid of the Moon. Image via Wikimedia.
We don’t know who built the city exactly. The city predates the Aztec culture by 1,000 years, but there is evidence that many different peoples, including Mayans, lived in the city and influenced the architecture that has made it famous around the globe and now hosts millions of tourists every year.
Even the true name of the city remains unknown since it was the Aztecs who gave it the name we know today that means “birthplace of the gods”, while Mayan hieroglyphic texts identify it as puh, meaning “Place of Reeds.”
Example of Mayan hieroglyphs, which identify Teotihuacan as “puh”. Image via Wikimedia.
By the time the Aztecs moved in, the city had already been abandoned and lay in ruins, and archaeologists have been investigating Teotihuacan’s downfall for decades, offering several theories.
Some say the city was invaded and sacked by a foreign enemy. But there is evidence that an internal uprising caused by an ecological disaster resulted in a population decline and an overthrowing of the ruling class.
Because many structures showed evidence of being burned, researchers understandably concluded that a rival civilization attacked the city. The problem is that only structures belonging to the ruling class were burned, which indicates an internal revolt. But why did the population rise up against the ruling class?
It turns out that a famine during major droughts caused by a climate change in 535-536 AD could have been the cause. The city relied overwhelmingly on agriculture for food, growing everything from tomatoes, maize, beans, pumpkins and more, but once the droughts kicked in, the food supply started to dwindle and there was not enough food for the large population. A reason for this sudden climate change may have been the 535 AD eruption of the Ilopango volcano in El Salvador. After all, the volcano resulted in several Mayan cities being wiped out or abandoned, why not Teotihuacan?
The caldera of the Ilopango volcano in El Salvador that erupted in 535 AD. Image via Wikimedia.
Just because we don’t know exactly who built the city or why it was abandoned, it doesn’t mean we haven’t learned a lot about Teotihuacan and the people who lived here.
Archaeologists have been excavating the site for decades, and have found murals, stone masks, statues, figurines and evidence of human and animal sacrifices.
Onyx jaguar sculpture found at Teotihuacan that may have been used to hold the hearts of sacrificed humans. Image via Wikimedia.A stone mask made of marble found at Teotihuacan. Image via Wikimedia.
A lot of this evidence of human and animal sacrifice has been found at the Pyramid of the Moon, built between 100 and 450 AD at the end of the Avenue of the Dead. Connected to the street is a staircase that leads to a stage where these rituals were performed. The site of the pyramid also serves as a burial ground for the sacrificed and there is an altar dedicated to the Great Goddess of Teotihuacan.
Aerial view of the Pyramid of the Moon at the end of the Avenue of the Dead. Image via Wikimedia.A mural featuring the Great Goddess of Teotihuacan. Image via Wikimedia.
In a recent excavation, archaeologists recently made an exciting find when they discovered a tunnel beneath the pyramid they believe served as a metaphorical passage to the underworld, which makes sense since humans were sacrificed at the site.
A collective burial of human sacrifices at Teotihuacan. Image via Wikimedia.
“In the explorations carried out at the end of the 1980s, through tunnels excavated in the body of the pyramid, archaeologists Ruben Cabrera and Saburo Sugiyama found skeletons of individuals with cranial deformation, as in the Mayan area, and various green stone objects, so it is not difficult to think that something similar could be found in the subsoil,” Dr. Veronica Ortega of Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History told IFLScience.
“The tunnel is located to the south of the Plaza de la Luna,” Ortega continued. “But it is likely that there is another entrance to the east side, so it is essential to have complete radiography to know where its entrance is.”
Indeed, the reason why the team found the tunnel in the first place is that they used an imaging technique called electrical resistivity tomography to map structures below the surface.
Technology has been more crucial than ever before in archaeological excavations. New satellite imaging technology, for instance, has helped researchers identify thousands of Mayan structures and potential sites than had been previously known.
“These large complex offerings constitute the sacred core of the city of Teotihuacan, so all people considered it the mecca of civilization, hence what can be found inside can help unravel the relationships that this ancient metropolis with other regions of Mesoamerica,” Ortega concluded. “The discovery confirms that the inhabitants of Teotihuacan followed the same pattern in their large-scale temples and that their function was to emulate the underworld.”
It’s certainly an interesting development that makes us yearn for more knowledge about this ancient civilization and their great city. And perhaps archaeologists will find more as new technology is applied to the site. Perhaps one day, we will learn the true name of the city and find out who built it. For now, we’ll just have to settle for a creepy tunnel that we definitely would not want to enter at night.
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The Tuatha Dé Danann were called the Shining Ones, an ancient pre-Celtic Irish tribe, the fifth one that invaded the island in ancient times. They would later be associated with Elven or Fairy Folk, but in Irish myths, they weren’t anything like the fairies of folklore today.
This tribe was not human but described as elegant, beautiful, and even shining with light. These mysterious beings arrived with the secret knowledge of the gods. When you begin to look into their story, you begin to see a dizzying array of connections to ancient mythologies in other parts of the world.
These demi-gods arrived on ships descending from the heavens in a great mist that blocked out daylight for three days and nights. Then, they burned the ships, forcing themselves to take up residence permanently.
Tuatha Dé Danann is translated to “people of the goddess Danu,” a primordial mother goddess. This same name, Danu, or Asura is also a Hindu goddess, and the name may describe “primeval waters.” Some have drawn comparisons to the wife of Zeus, the goddess Diana, whose name was derived from the Proto-Indo-European for “(bright) sky.” She was known to the Romans as the goddess of the hunt, the Moon, and nature.
According to Mysterious Universe, there are also startling links to many other ancient mythologies, including the Nephilim of the Bible and the ancient Sumerian Anunnaki.
“The people of the Israelite tribe of Dan intermingled with the Canaanite Tuatha De Danann, also known as the Dragon Lords of Anu, said to be the offspring of the ancient Sumerian Anunnaki. This is also one of the interpretations of the Sons of God intermingling with the “daughters of men,” referenced in the Genesis chapter six story of the Nephilim.”
More about the goddess Danu and connections to the Rigveda, the oldest of the sacred books of Hinduism
The Tuatha, described as having red hair and green or blue eyes, had superhuman abilities and skills. Ancient astronaut theorists believe this is an example of advanced extraterrestrial technology.
“They had four great treasures (or talismans) that demonstrated their skills. The first was the ‘Stone of Fal’ which would scream when a true King of Ireland stood on it. It was later placed on the Hill of Tara, the seat of the High-Kings of Ireland. The second was the ‘Magic Sword of Nuadha’, which was capable of inflicting only mortal blows when used. The third was the ‘sling-shot of the Sun God Lugh’, famed for its accuracy when used. The final treasure was the ‘Cauldron of Daghda’ from which an endless supply of food issued.”
The Shining Ones battled with the Fomhoire, another group of supernatural Irish invaders, meaning “undersea people” or “sinister supernatural beings.” They were sometimes described as half-animal and hostile. However, some of the Fomorian resembled and intermarried with the Tuatha.
In the Leabhar Gabhála Éireann,also called The Book of Invasions, the Fomhoire are identified as “descendants of Cain or of Noah’s unfilial son Ham.”
In subsequent victorious wars with the Fomhoire and the half-Fomorian Breas, who for a time ruled the Tuatha, a young hero named Lugh became the King of Ireland.
When we look at the deity called Lugh, we see more biblical references as well as connections to other mythologies in Europe.
King Lugh, the Celtic Lord of Light, is said to be a youthful sun, storm, or sky god, leads the Tuatha against the Fomorians, defeating his grandfather, the giant cyclops leader Balor. At the second Battle of Mag Tuired, he defeats Balor with a sling, which brings to mind the story of David and Goliath in the Bible. Lugh is also said to have a companion hound named Fáil Inis, whose pelt could turn the water it touched into wine.
According to Patheos, Lugh was once widely known throughout Europe.
“The Celtic namesake of Lughnasadh comes from the mythos of the god Lugh. A deity worshipped across many cultures, and nearly universally recognized by the Celts; Lugh was known throughout Europe. He is a patron of the arts, master of crafts, and known for his many diverse talents. He is equated in the writings of Julius Caesar to the popular Roman equivalent Mercury. [Greek: Hermes] The polytheists of antiquity had an interesting worldview that afforded them the capacity to recognize common attributes in various foreign deities. It was a common polytheistic belief that is stated in the writings of Julius Caesar, that the Celts worshipped the same deities as the Greeks and Romans just under different cultural names.”
Lugh’s name, it has been noted, bears similarity to the linguistic roots of the name, Lucifer.
“Interestingly, the figure of Lucifer shares many commonalities with Lugh, and other wandering gods of the sorcerous road. In a common Promethean theme, these wisdom deities bring knowledge of all the arts to mankind. Both of these deities have associations as bearers of the illuminating light of gnosis.”
Although the Tuatha Dé Danann prevailed for a time, they lost to another invader, called the Melesians. These peoples, now thought to be the Celts possibly, forced the defeated Tuatha to go underground.
According to the mythology, the Tuatha Dé Danann lived in an underground world that could only be accessed through portals. These gateways are thought to be found at megalithic structures and hills.
The Tuatha Dé Danann, once considered gods and goddesses, would be relegated to the standing of mythological fairies and fairy circles. While still respected and feared by many in the Irish countryside as real and dangerous beings, they became the stuff of modern fairytales to most people.
Although the legend of these gods and goddesses was all but lost to history, today’s interest in the Tuatha Dé Danann is coming back.
Ancient astronaut theorists see telltale signs of them in stories of the Druids, in strange megalithic structures found around the world, and even in the stories of giants by Native Americans. Those giants were sometimes said to have red hair but appeared at vast distances from Ireland and well before the known arrival of Europeans in North America.
On Season 14, Episode 7, The Druid Connection, you can find out more about the Tuatha Dé Danann, the Druids, and bizarre connections to events in North America.
Below is an in-depth discussion of the Tuatha Dé Danann:
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