Major Templo Mayor Offering Linked to Moctezuma I Uncovered — Mexico City

Archaeologists from the Templo Mayor Project (Proyecto Templo Mayor) announced on February 4, 2026, the discovery of a colossal ritual offering complex beneath Mexico City's historic center, linked to the reign of Moctezuma I (Motecuhzoma Ilhuicamina, r.1440–1469). The find includes six stone chests (tepetlacalli) containing 83 Mezcala-style greenstone figurines and more than 4,000 marine elements including coral, shells, and fish remains — representing the most significant pre-Aztec material found at the site in decades. Project director Leonardo López Luján presented the findings at the Harn Museum of Art (University of Florida, Gainesville) on February 4, 2026. The offerings are associated with ceremonies performed during the construction of an early phase of the Templo Mayor and provide new insight into the ritual life of Tenochtitlan decades before the Spanish conquest. The discovery underscores that systematic excavation of the Aztec sacred precinct — ongoing since 1978 — continues to yield major finds beneath one of the world's most densely inhabited urban centers.