A 500-Year-Old Aztec Tower of Human Skulls Is Even More Terrifyingly Humongous Than Previously Thought, Archaeologists Find
Spanish conquistadors destroyed the Huei Tzompantli tower, but archaeologist are unearthing its ruins.
December 16, 2020
Archaeologists have unearthed a new section of the Huey Tzompantli, a “tower of skulls” in what is now Mexico City, and was formerly the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán. Photo courtesy of Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).
Mexico’s Huei Tzompantli, a terrifying tower constructed from human skulls, is even bigger than previously thought. Archaeologists have discovered a new section of the historic site, which was first uncovered in 2015. The new find adds 119 skulls to the previously known 484, for a hair-raising total of 603 skulls, stacked atop one another and mortared together.