Templo Mayor Archaeological Site = Good Times!

No trip is complete without a good archaeology fix. Fortunately I had the oportunity to visit the ruins of "El Templo Mayor" in Mexico city. The ruins of what was once an enormous temple in the city of Tenochtitlan (The capital of the Aztec empire) is now reduced to a relatively small area after its destruction in the XVI century... however this once great temple still has many goodies for us to enjoy! As you can see from the photo below, the site is directly behind the Metropolitan Cathedral... thus placing it dead center in Mexico city (as was the rest of Tenochtitlan, which at the time of the arrival of the Europeans was one of the largest cities on earth).


Model of the temple (within the sites museum)

A very common motif in Aztec architecture... also seen in sites in the south east such as Chichen Itza (which was ofcourse very heavily influence by the peoples of central Mexico).

Remains of beautiful carvings

Eagle head

Chac Mool (you find these all over Meso America!)

Totlec like statues

Beautiful frog adornments (associated with the Rain god Tlaloc)

Feathered serpent head

A few photos of some buskers performing a Pre-Hispanic dance (ofcourse put on for silly tourists, but its still neat)


I wan nothing to do with any religion in which I will find these guys in the afterlife!!!