It has been hailed as ‘the most significant archaeological discovery in a decade.’
Archaeologists in Mexico have uncovered a 1,400-year-old tomb in the Central Valleys of Oaxaca that had been lost to history.
The stone structure, built by the Zapotec culture, known as Be’ena’a, or ‘The Cloud People’, is adorned with sculptures, murals and carved symbols that suggest ritual significance.
The Zapotec believed their ancestors descended from the clouds and that, in death, their souls returned to the heavens as spirits.
At the entrance sits a massive carved owl, its open beak revealing the face of a Zapotec lord, a symbol the National Institute of Anthropology and History said represented death and power.
The doorway is framed by a stone threshold and lintel, above which a frieze of engraved slabs displays ancient calendrical names.
Flanking the entrance are carved figures of a man and woman wearing headdresses and holding ritual objects, likely guardians of the tomb.
Inside the burial chamber, preserved sections of a vibrant mural remain intact, showing a procession of figures carrying bundles of copal as they move toward the tomb’s entrance.
Archaeologists in Mexicohave uncovered a 1,400-year-old tomb in the Central Valleys of Oaxaca that had been lost to history
At the entrance sits a massive carved owl, its open beak revealing the face of a Zapotec lord
Mexico’s president, Claudia Sheinbaum Pardo, said: ‘It is the most important archaeological discovery of the last decade in Mexico due to its level of preservation and the information it provides.’
The Zapotecs have a history spanning over 2,500 years.
They established a major pre-Columbian civilization centered at Monte Albán, which featured advanced agriculture and writing.
The Zapotec civilization mysteriously declined in the area around 900 AD.
However, the people did not completely disappear, as there are at least 400,000 living today.
Mexico’s Secretary of Culture, Claudia Curiel de Icaza, said the ‘exceptional discovery’ of the tomb was due to its preservation.
She added that it reveals how the Zapotec culture was a social organization with funerary rituals.
‘It is a compelling example of Mexico’s ancient grandeur, which is now being researched, protected, and shared with society,’ she continued.
The stone structure, built by the Zapotec culture, known as Be’ena’a, or ‘The Cloud People’, is adorned with sculptures, murals and carved symbols that suggest ritual significance
Pictured is the giant owl above the tomb’s entrance
An interdisciplinary team from the INAH Oaxaca Center is currently working to conserve and protect the tomb, focusing on stabilizing the fragile mural painting. Experts say the mural’s condition is delicate due to root growth, insect activity, and sudden shifts in temperature and humidity.
At the same time, researchers are conducting ceramic, iconographic and epigraphic studies, along with physical anthropology analyses, to better understand the rituals, symbols and funerary practices connected to the tomb.
In 2024, archaeologists announced the discovery of tunnels that the ancient Zapotec civilization believed to be the ‘entrance to the underworld’ had been found beneath a centuries-old church.
Mitla, meaning place of the dead, was a city in southern Mexico known for its association with Pitao Bezelao, the Zapotec god of death.
But the Spanish arrived in the 16th Century and razed the city, building a church on the ruins of its most important temple.
A priest later wrote that ‘the back door of hell’ lay under the city – huge caverns believed to be the entrance to the Zapotec underworld.
But they were walled up, he said, and later excavations failed to find anything matching the scale of his description – until now.
Using non-invasive techniques, archaeologists recently revealed a series of chambers and tunnels beneath the city.
Five different sets of ruins were probed: the church group, the arroyo group, the adobe group, the south group, and the group of the columns.
Pictured is the face of the Zapotec god inside the owl’s mouth
In 2024, archaeologists announced the discovery of tunnels that the ancient Zapotec civilization believed to be the ‘entrance to the underworld’ had been found beneath a centuries-old church
Using non-invasive techniques, archaeologists recently revealed a series of chambers and tunnels beneath the city
Marco Vigato, founder of the ARX Project, which is leading the search, said: ‘Some of the tunnels and chambers extend to a considerable depth, in excess of 50 feet.
The underground tunnels were revealed using a combination of ground penetrating radar, electric resistivity tomography, and seismic noise tomography.
The first method uses radar waves to model the subsurface, while the second detects buried structures by measuring the flow of electricity through the earth.
Instead of electricity, the final method measures the speed at which seismic waves move through the ground.
Just how old the tunnels are is yet to be established.
‘Natural caves in the area of Mitla have been occupied and partially modified by humans for thousands of years,’ Vigato said:
‘The earliest evidence of crop domestication in the area of Mitla dates back almost 10,000 years.
‘There is no indication at the moment as to the possible age of the tunnels under the church or the other groups of structures at Mitla.
‘They may have been created by the Zapotecs, or they could be much older.’
He added: ‘The findings from the geophysical scans will have to be confirmed with archaeological methods.
‘This could determine the nature of the cavities identified under the site and whether they contain any artifacts of archaeological significance.’
