Tenochtitlan (Templo Mayor)

The Templo Mayor was the main ceremonial pyramid of Tenochtitlan, the Aztec capital founded around 1325 CE on an island in Lake Texcoco. Today, the ruins are located in the historic center of modern-day Mexico City. The site was famously discovered in 1978 during excavation work for electrical cables.

The Templo Mayor consisted of a large stepped pyramid featuring twin shrines at its summit, dedicated to the rain god Tlaloc and the war god Huitzilopochtli. Successive Aztec rulers built larger pyramids directly over the previous structures, creating layers. Excavations have revealed these distinct construction phases.

Yes, visitors can walk through the excavated ruins of the Templo Mayor and visit the adjacent Templo Mayor Museum, which opened in 1987. The museum houses artifacts recovered from the site, including the massive Coyolxauhqui stone disk. It provides deep insight into the religious practices of the Aztec Empire.

The Templo Mayor was systematically dismantled by Spanish conquistadors after the fall of Tenochtitlan in 1521. Hernán Cortés and his men used the stones from the destroyed pyramid to build colonial structures, including the adjacent Mexico City Metropolitan Cathedral. Only the foundational ruins survived beneath the colonial city.