An unexpected construction pause has delayed the addition of a third lane to the Pachuca-Huejutla highway near Hidalgo, Mexico. However, the reason for pushing back on planning was justified: workers accidentally discovered an approximately 1,375-year-old pyramid built during the height of a multi-ethnic society known as the Metzca Rule.
According to one Announcement December 5 of Mexico’s Ministry of Culture and the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), road crews first found evidence of the “San Miguel” site, named after the nearby town of San Miguel Metzquititlán, in early June. Archaeologists began excavating parts of the site after highway work ceased, eventually uncovering parts of the ‘Structure 1’ pyramid which consisted of five sectors containing at least ten mounds. At the end of their excavation, the team had recovered 155 artefacts such as shells, ceramics and stone materials, while also noticing traces of charcoal, charred wood and lime floors.
Researchers believe the ruins were likely built by the Metztitlán ruler, also known as the “Lordship of Metzca”, a multi-ethnic culture that lived in the Sierra Alta area of Hidalgo during the Epiclassic (650-950 CE) and Late Postclassic (1350-1519 CE) eras. In Wednesday’s announcement, Héctor Labra Chávez, tourism director of San Agustín Metzquititlán, explained that there were “no known remains of pre-Hispanic civilizations in this immediate area” prior to the discovery of the San Miguel site, and that “deeper studies are essential to discover the cultural context of this important find.”
However, experts were working on borrowed time. After “exhaustive documentation” of the site using tools such as drone-based photogrammetry, INAH noted that researchers needed to build a roughly 41-meter-long, 10-meter-high, and 7.5-meter-thick rock wall along the pyramid’s exposed rock face. base. The excavated areas were then reburied to maintain their integrity, but not before covering the exposed areas with geotextiles to better preserve them.
[Related: Mystery language on ancient stone tablet stumps archeologists.]
If Archaeological news notes that unfortunately it may be a while before archaeologists can start exploring San Miguel again. Recent cuts to the INAH budget will reduce their 2025 funds by 45 percent, limiting their ability to finance additional projects. Nevertheless, the recovered materials and structural studies will provide researchers with information that can help further their understanding of the region.
“This archaeological record provides valuable insights into the human habitation of the Sierra Alta region, especially in the Barranca de Metztitlán area, where historiography traces settlements back 14,000 years,” the INAH explains.