Moctezuma’s paleis opgegraven

Nieuws | de redactie
10 juni 2008 | Tenochtitl?n
In het oude hart van Tenochtitlan –nu downtown Mexico City- zijn restanten gevonden van het cultische centrum van het paleis van Moctezuma, de laatste Aztekenheerser. Onder een later Spaans-koloniaal gebouw, waarin nu het Cultuur Museum gevestigd is, zijn vloeren van dat paleis aangetroffen. “Weer een stukje van de puzzel”, zeggen archeologen.

Moctezuma’s palace complex – known as the Casas Nuevas, or New Houses to distinguish them from his predecessors’ palaces – is thought to have comprised five interconnected buildings containing the emperor’s office, chambers for children and several wives and even a zoo. The Aztec constructions were razed by the Spanish, who built what is now Mexico City atop their ruins. Experts had long thought Moctezuma’s palace stood roughly on the site where the ruins were found, next door to the National Palace.

The find is “another piece of a puzzle, (and) we hope to find several pieces,” archeologist Elisa Hernandez said. Excavations are planned beneath several parts of the colonial building, which now houses the Museum of Culture. The basalt floor likely belongs to the Casa Denegrida, or the Black House, which Spanish conquerors described as a windowless room painted in black, Hernandez said. The emperor was believed to have reflected there on visions recounted by professional seers and shamans. His reliance on such predictions may have contributed to his downfall, possibly prompting him to initially mistake Spanish conquerors for divine figures.



«
Schrijf je in voor onze nieuwsbrief
ScienceGuide is bij wet verplicht je toestemming te vragen voor het gebruik van cookies.
Lees hier over ons cookiebeleid en klik op OK om akkoord te gaan
OK