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Archaeologists have found dozens of skulls they excavated near an Aztec temple near Mexico City.
The 119 skulls were part of a tower of sacrificed human heads kept as a trophy by pre-Columbian civilization, experts have said.
The skull rack was found as part of a five-year excavation underneath ancient buildings near the Aztec ruins of the city’s Templo Mayor, which has so far found a total of 603 skulls.
They are believed to date from between 1486 and 1502.
The tower was found about 10 feet (3.5 meters) below street level.
Among them were the skulls of women and children.
Archaeologists say Aztec officials saw the huge pile of victims’ heads as a sign of power and prestige.
Part of an Aztec tower of human skulls
Alejandra Frausto, secretary of culture of Mexico City, said: “It is an important testimony of the power and greatness achieved by Mexico-Tenochtitlán.”
Skull racks in pre-Hispanic Mexico were called “tzompantli” and were composed of severed heads of sacrificed victims that were then placed on wooden posts pushed into the sides of the skull.
Paintings and written descriptions from the early colonial period detailed such shelves, but the discovery of Mexico City was unlike others.
The skulls were arranged in a circle, one on top of the other and with the holes filled with mortar.
They positioned themselves facing inward, toward the center of the circle, around a seemingly empty space in the middle. Experts say they don’t know what, if anything, was at the center.
The severed heads may have been displayed on hangers shortly after death, and once the meat had rotted, the mortar may have been set in place.
The excavation has been carried out under several buildings, some of which are considered of historical importance.
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