1800-year-old Mexican tunnel could reveal secrets of ancient civilisation

Archaeologists have found a tunnel which was hidden from the human eye for 1,800 years in the ancient city of Mexico, which could reveal secrets about the ancient American civilisation.

It is believed to be 120 metres deep leading to secret 'funeral chambers'.

The tunnel, which is 13 metres below the ground, was spotted by chance in 2003 after heavy rains seeped into a tiny hole in the ground.

Archaeologists found the tunnel under the ruins of the Feathered Serpent Temple at the archaeological site of Teotihuacan, near Mexico City.

The city is thought to have been built in 100BC, and existed until the 8th century. Archaeologists consider it one of the most influential in pre-Hispanic North America, with a population of 200,000 at its peak.
 
“At the end, there are several chambers which could hold the remains of the rulers of that Mesoamerican civilisation. If confirmed, it will be one of the most important archaeological discoveries of the 21st century on a global scale,” the Daily Mail quoted Sergio Gomez Chavez, an archaeologist at Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History as saying.

“We know that Teotihuacan was built as a replica of how they saw the cosmos, the universe. We imagine the tunnel to be a recreation of the underworld,” he added.