The Pyramid of Cholula

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http://www.heygo.com 3rd March - The Pyramid of Cholula - Dedicated to the god Quetzalcoatl in the San Andrés Cholula, Puebla municipality of Mexico.



Originally constructed over 2000 years ago, the Great Pyramid of Tepanapa (often referred to as the Great Pyramid of Cholula) boasts a larger volume than any other ancient, man-made structure including the Egyptian pyramids. Stylistically, the pyramid is an oddity, puzzling archeologists to this day by incorporating architectural elements of both the Teotihuacan and El Tajin civilizations.



During the many pre-Columbian power shifts in Mexico, the pyramid itself fell out of use in favor of other structures, such as one of the many sacrificial altars on the ten-acre site. It is unclear whether it was through disuse that the pyramid became overgrown with shrubbery, or if, when the Aztecs caught wind of the impending Spanish arrival, the Cholulans literally buried the pyramid in a last-ditch, communal effort to preserve the massive temple, an important piece of their culture.

Either way, when the Spanish arrived at Cholula in 1519, Cortes and his men were so occupied with the decimation of the indigenous people and their more conspicuous holy sites that they failed to recognize the pyramid as such, instead thinking it the perfect hill site for one of their countless new churches! Within the year, La Iglesia de los Remedios was constructed, where it remains to this day.

As the dirt began to fall away, the pyramid revealed itself to archeologists, who have excavated the pyramid’s stairways, platforms, altars, and over five miles of tunnels snaking through the structure’s innards.



The Cholula pyramid is the largest by volume in the Americas, in addition to being the largest known pyramid by volume in the world, measuring at its base 450 by 450 metres (in comparison to the Great Pyramid of Egypt measuring 230 by 230 metres or the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacán that measures 220 by 230 metres).

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