Archaeologists have discovered the remains of an Aztec palace and the home of a conqueror in the heart of Mexico City.
Numerous basalt slabs of the palace were found under the National Monte de Piedad, a historic building in Mexico City, according to the National Institute of Anthropology and History of Mexico (INAH).
The building was built on the remains of the Axayácatl Palace, which ruled the Aztec city of Tenochtitlán between 1469 and 1481. Excavations in the building’s main courtyard revealed the basalt slabs. “Given its characteristics, specialists deduced that it was part of an open space in the former Axayácatl Palace, probably a courtyard,” INAH said in a translated statement.
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Axayácatl was the father of Moctezuma II, the Aztec ruler assassinated in 1520 during the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire. The palace was used by the forces of the conqueror Hernán Cortés when they arrived in Tenochtitlán, according to INAH. “While he was in that palace, numerous events took place,” INAH explained in the statement. “For example, they remodeled a hall to celebrate mass and, right there, they also held several rulers captive, beginning with their distinguished host: Moctezuma Xocoyotzin.”
Part of a room in the house built by order of Hernán Cortés. The house is built on the remains of the Aztec palace.
(Photo: Raúl Barrera R./PAU-INAH.)
The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire ended in 1521 and the Axayácatl palace was destroyed.
During their excavation of the Monte Nacional de Piedad, archaeologists also found the remains of a house built by Cortés’ order that reused materials from the Axayácatl palace.
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Mexico continues to reveal new aspects of its rich history. Last year, for example, archaeologists discovered two 16th-century anchors off the coast of Mexico that may be from ships used by the conqueror Cortés.
The Monte de Piedad National Building in Mexico City. (Photo: Raúl Barrera R./PAU-INAH)
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A wide variety of skulls buried under the streets of modern Mexico City has also revealed the lurid details of Aztec human sacrifice.
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