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Archaeologists have bring out a 17th - century burrow filled with indigenous rock carving in the city of Ecatepec in Mexico . The burrow likely served as part of a water gate for a butch — through which urine entered on one side and exited on the other — that was created to contain the constant flooding that ravaged the lands .
The carvings decorating the east end of the 27.6 - foot - foresighted ( 8.4 m ) tunnel include 11 pre - Latino trope — or those that see back to theNative Americansthat dwell in the area before 1521 when it was conquered by the Spanish — in the form of etching into the John Rock called " petroglyphs " and stucco reliefs . The respite were created by sculpt an image and then painting it with limestone , order Raúl García Chávez , coordinator of the salvage and enhancement project for the dike .
The east end of the tunnel, where the water exited, was decorated in petroglyphs and stucco reliefs.
The cutting let in a " chimalli " or war shield , a obdurate distributor point and the head of a doll of prey , while the stucco reliefs resemble raindrops .
The raindrop symbols were found on the upper part of the anchor — the top stone that keep the arch together — also on the east ending of the tunnel where the water pass ; these symbolization could represent a link with Tlaloc , theAztec god of rain , Chávez tell apart Live Science . The lower part of the keystone is engraved with an ikon of a temple . On the west side , where the pee once entered the tunnel , the researchers found one more petroglyph which they are presently study . They also find four iron nail and two 21 - substructure - long ( 6.5 m ) wooden radio beam .
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The dam , known today as the Albarradon de Ecatepec is 2.5 mile ( 4 kilometers ) long . It was built in 1605 to moderate the piddle that entered the city of Texcoco from the nearby Xaltocan and Zumpango lakes , fit in to a statementfrom Mexico ’s National Institute of Anthropology and History ( INAH ) .
Because Mexico City pose in a catchment area where water has no electric outlet , the city has dealt with periodical floodlight since ancient time . The butch place upright impregnable for two decades , until the Great Flood of 1629 took appreciation of the metropolis , which remained flooded for five year before waters recede . Colonials " canceled " the floodgate at the meter by covering it up with millions of stone and ash tree ; they later ordered the building of two other floodgates , Chávez allege .
Three thousand indigenous people are thought to have make this dike under the supervision of the Spanish mendicant Jeronimo de Aguilar and Juan de Torquemada , Chávez say . While the newfound carving and stucco reliefs show influences from indigenous people , some of the construction techniques , such as the arches of the burrow , more closely resemble European method acting , according to the financial statement .
" It does not have pre - Latino methods , but rather semicircular arches and segment of andesite , lime and sand mortar , and a floor at the top , with stone master lines and ashlars " or delicately act upon stones , Chávez suppose in the financial statement , bring up to the tunnel . " Everything is papist and Spanish influence . "
One conjecture is that the glyphs and stuccoes on the tunnel came from people in the pre - Latino villages of Ecatepec and Chiconautla who worked with other autochthonous people in the region to create the dyke in eight month , he said .
INAH along with the Mexican government began salvaging and enhancing the dike in 2004 . Part of the surface area has now been freshen up and turned into a parkland that will spread out to the world in a couple of weeks , accord to the statement . The original stucco , petroglyphs , nail and wooden ray will be transferred to the Casa Morelos Community Center , and replicas will be installed in position of those artefact .
Originally published onLive scientific discipline .
