The secret of the Cholula pyramid: the greatness and wrath of the gods

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

Against the background of this pyramid in the city of Cholula, even the tombs of the Egyptian pharaohs in Giza seem to be the houses of the Lilliputians. However, the Spanish conquistadors did not notice him.

There were thousands and thousands of them - warriors hardened by months of battles with ferocious natives, malnutrition and unknown diseases. Hernan Cortes entered the great city of Cholulu with his conquistadors, ready for battle.

But that was a holy city. Instead of arming themselves, its inhabitants built temples; it was said that they had a sacred pyramid for every day of the year. For their generosity, they surely could count on the protection of the gods.

But this was a fatal mistake. The invaders filled all the streets, the shrines were plundered, and the precious pyramids were burned.

In three hours, the Spaniards slaughtered three thousand people. On that day, October 12, 1519, an unprecedented massacre took place, in which 10% of the city's population died.

As a result, the Spaniards settled in Cholula, which is located on the territory of modern Mexico, and erected so many buildings that, as they say, there is a church for every day of the year in the city.

The final touch and symbol of the Christian conquest was the Iglesia de Nuestra Senhora de lo Remedios (Church of the Blessed Virgin of the Comforter), built on an elevation that the Spaniards considered a large hill.

But, as it turned out, you can't always believe your eyes. Beneath a tiny Christian temple, hidden under grass, trees and soil, stands an ancient pyramid of truly enormous dimensions: 450 meters wide and 66 meters high.

For a little-known temple, the Great Pyramid of Cholula boasts an impressive set of records: it is the largest pyramid on the planet, with a base four times larger than that of the Great Pyramid of Giza, and twice the size of the Egyptian pyramid.

Why is there the largest pyramid - it remains to this day the largest monument of all that has ever been built by man! Locals call it Tlachihualtepetl ("man-made mountain").

And thanks to the church, which has settled on its top, it is also the oldest permanently inhabited structure on the planet.

They say that until in 1910 the locals began to build a shelter for the mentally ill here, no one had any idea that it was a pyramid.

But by the time Cortez arrived here with his army, this structure had stood for a thousand years and was completely hidden under the vegetation.

At the very beginning of the excavation, many grim finds were made, including the disfigured skulls of decapitated children.

Where did all this come from? And why did it take so long to catch the eye?

Despite the pyramid's gigantic size, very little is known about its early history.

Scientists believe that its construction began around 300 BC, but who exactly started this construction is still a mystery. The myth says that this pyramid is the work of a giant.

Most likely, the inhabitants of the city, who are called choluteka, were a mixture of different peoples. “Apparently, the city was multinational, with active migration,” says David Carballo, an archaeologist at Boston University in Massachusetts, USA.

But whoever the inhabitants here were, they were probably very rich. Cholula is conveniently located in the mountains of Mexico and for thousands of years it served as a major center of trade connecting the northern state of the Toltecs-Chichimecs with the southern Mayan empire.

Cortez named it the most beautiful city outside of Spain. By the time he arrived here, Cholula was the second largest city in the Aztec empire, although it had changed hands several times.

But the surprises don't end there. In fact, this structure is not one pyramid at all, but a kind of giant nesting doll, consisting of at least six parts, placed one on top of the other.

It grew in stages, as the next civilizations improved the construction.

“They deliberately retained, and in some cases emphasized, the previous stages of construction. This is an innovative approach, it reflects a conscious attempt to connect with the past,” says Carballo.

Legend has it that the locals, having learned about the campaign of the conquistadors, themselves covered the precious temple with earth. But, in fact, it could have happened by accident, because, oddly enough, the world's largest pyramid was built of clay.

Adobe bricks are made from a mixture of clay and materials such as sand or straw and then dried in the sun. For the construction of the pyramid, the outer bricks were additionally coated with earth so that it was possible to draw on the walls.

During its heyday, the entire temple was painted with images of red, black and yellow insects.

In dry climates, clay bricks are extremely durable and can last for thousands of years. And in the humid climate of Mexico, such a structure has become a breeding ground for the tropical jungle.

“This temple was abandoned in the 7th or 8th century AD. A new pyramid was built nearby in Cholutek, which was later destroyed by the Spaniards,” explains Carballo.

Topography also played into the hands: the pyramid stands on a natural platform in an area almost entirely covered with mountains.

Now the pyramid has returned to the bosom of the city, and it can be viewed by wandering through the tunnels more than eight kilometers long, built at the beginning of the twentieth century.