Experts find Mayan ‘nesting doll pyramid’

Mexico ciTy: Experts have discovered a third structure within the Kukulkan pyramid in eastern Mexico, revealing that it was built like a “Russian nesting doll”.

A 10m tall pyramid was found within another 20m structure, which itself is enveloped by the 30m pyramid visible at the Mayan archeological complex known as Chichen Itza in Yucatan state.

The smallest pyramid was built between the years 550 and 800, engineers and anthropologists said.

The middle structure had already been discovered in the 1930s and dates back to the years 800-1,000, while the largest one was finished between 1050-1300.

The discovery suggests that the pyramid, known as “El Castillo” (The Castle), was built in three phases.

“Under the large one we get another and another,” Rene Chavez Seguro, the project’s chief and a geophysics researcher at the National Autonomous University of Mexico, told a news conference.

Structures were built on top of each other for various reasons, including deterioration or the arrival of new leadership, said Denisse Argote, expert at the National Anthropology and History Institute.

The smallest pyramid was spotted using a non-invasive technique that consisted of lighting the inside of the pyramid to see its interior without causing damage. — AFP

Castle in a castle: Thousands of tourists surrounding the Kukulkan pyramid at the Chichen Itza archaeological site during the celebration of the spring equinox in the Yucatan state, southeastern Mexico. — AFP