It is claimed this tunnel was discovered in Mexico accidentally and will never be open to the public. Archaeologist Sergio Gomez, who worked on the conservation of the temple of Quetzalcoatl in 2003, came across the tunnel with Julie Gazzola after a very heavy, days-long rainstorm. A nearly three feet wide sinkhole opened at the base of the Feathered Serpent temple and when investigated with a flashlight and rope it was found to be a man-made shaft.
At the bottom of the shaft was a tunnel blocked in both directions by enormous rocks. The video goes on to show an artifact that looks distinctly like a tattooed alien carved from pale green rock and another that looks like an intricately carved UFO, complete with tiny little removable carved pieces.
Unfortunately, the images used to create this video do not appear to be from the actual tunnel beneath the pyramid of Quetzalcoatl. The first excavation pictures were taken by a small remote-controlled robot, although what it found along with the real artifacts recovered is just as fascinating!
Over 75,000 artifacts have been found while exploring this tunnel leading to secret underground chambers, including things such as a wooden mask inlaid with jade and quartz, greenstone crocodile teeth, a box of beetle wings, and hundreds of metalized spheres. These mysterious balls ranged in size from about 1.5” to 5” and were made with a core of clay and covered with a yellow jarosite that formed from the oxidization of pyrite. These spheres would have shone like gold when they were created. The use and meaning of these little gold balls is still completely unknown.
At the end of the tunnel, a chamber representing the underworld was discovered. This chamber deep beneath the pyramid’s center contained a miniature landscape with pools of liquid mercury representing lakes. The walls and ceiling were decorated with different mineral powders (hematite, pyrite, and magnetite) to create the spectacular effect of standing beneath the stars at night.
The temple of Quetzalcoatl is a real tourist destination and has suffered accelerated deterioration from the constant traffic. Conservation efforts are continuously being made to ensure its protection. The tunnel beneath it is still under excavation which is probably why visitors are not yet allowed. Many of the discoveries were made available in 2017 at a major exhibition at the De Young Museum in San Fransisco, California.
Sources: Smithsonian / MSN
