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Largest multiple offering from the reign of Motecuhzoma Ilhuicamina was consecrated in a single ceremony between 1440 and 1469. Six stone chests now close the ritual circle of Stage IVa of the Templo Mayor.
The Templo Mayor offering, in Mexico City, gained three new tepetlacalli in the Templo Mayor Project (PTM), according to the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH).
According to the bulletin, the chests received the numbers 186, 187, and 189 and complete a set of six ritual deposits placed in the same ceremonial event.
According to INAH, the announcement came on February 26, 2026, during “La arqueología hoy” conference series, from El Colegio Nacional.
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According to the bulletin, Leonardo López Luján, director of the PTM, presented the data alongside archaeologist Alejandra Aguirre Molina and biologist Belem Zúñiga Arellano.
According to the official bulletin, it is the largest multiple offering ever documented from the reign of Motecuhzoma Ilhuicamina, the fifth Mexica tlatoani, nicknamed “El flechador del cielo”.
Six tepetlacalli placed in a single ceremony
The three new chests join offerings 18 and 19, found in 1970, and offering 97, discovered in 1991.
According to archaeologist Alejandra Aguirre Molina, all belong to Stage IVa of the Templo Mayor, dated between 1440 and 1469.
According to Aguirre: “These three offerings belong to Stage IVa of the Templo Mayor,” Aguirre declared to La Vanguardia, “which is why we suspected that three others remained to the east and south of the enormous pyramid.”
In other words, the initial hypothesis was confirmed: the team knew where to look and found it.
Excavations began to the east and south of the pyramid, exactly where the Mexica ritual symmetry model predicted the rest of the ensemble.
In parallel, each new tepetlacalli measures about 50 centimeters wide by 50 high.
The chests had been sealed since the 15th century, intact until this excavation.
In practice, the “circle closes” for the PTM team. For the first time, all deposits from Stage IVa are located and can be studied as a single event.
83 Mezcala figurines and four thousand marine elements
The six reunited chests held 83 anthropomorphic Mezcala-style green stone figurines.
According to the INAH bulletin, the three new offerings brought 15, 15, and 13 pieces, respectively. The other 40 come from the already known offerings 18, 19, and 97.
In addition to the figurines, the ensemble includes more than 4,000 malacological elements.
According to biologist Belem Zúñiga Arellano, Nerita scabricosta and Hexaplex brassica snails were identified, as well as seeds, sawfish rostra, copal, and chapopote.
According to the PTM, the pieces came from the Pacific and the Caribbean. The logistics to concentrate everything in a single ceremony was already enormous in the 15th century.
On the other hand, there are also sculptures weighing between 600 and 1,000 kilograms each. According to INAH, they were moved by ropes, levers, and rollers, without mechanical equipment.
The ceremony consecrated war spoils in Tlaxco and Tlaxmalac
According to López Luján, the ceremony celebrated a military victory by Motecuhzoma Ilhuicamina over two lordships located in what is now the state of Guerrero.
On the other hand, Tlaxco and Tlaxmalac were in the line of Mexica imperial expansion.
“Let’s imagine how spectacular that ceremony was: dozens of priests and thousands of faithful surrounding the Templo Mayor,” López Luján declared in an interview with Muy Interesante.
According to the researcher, the act involved simultaneously placing sculptural relics, shells, seeds, and the rest of the ensemble.
In parallel, copal and chapopote (natural asphalt) were included as flammable offerings. Fire was part of the rite.
Indeed, Motecuhzoma I ruled between 1440 and 1469. He was the tlatoani who organized the Mexica empire on a regional scale, with expeditions beyond the Valley of Mexico.
Tepetlacalli: ritual chests sealed for almost 600 years
To understand the term, tepetlacalli is the Nahuatl name for stone chests or caskets used by the Mexica for ritual deposits. Those found now were intact, with their contents preserved by sealing.
Indeed, the state of conservation surprised the team. According to INAH, several pieces retain pigment and details that are usually lost in humid environments.
In turn, the position of the pieces inside the chests followed a symmetrical pattern. This arrangement now allows for the reconstruction of the original ritual gesture based on all six deposits together.
The Templo Mayor was the religious heart of Tenochtitlán. Today its ruins are in the historic center of the Mexican capital, next to the Metropolitan Cathedral.
To understand the scale, the pyramid was about 60 meters high at its Mexica peak.
Largest Templo Mayor offering goes to unprecedented exhibition
Consequently, the six deposits will be reunited for the first time in the same exhibition. The Museo del Templo Mayor will house the ensemble after the final conservation phase.
According to the PTM coordination, the stabilization work is long. The pieces undergo cleaning, chemical analysis, and biological identification of each specimen.
Consequently, the impact goes beyond the academic world. Mexico City’s historic center is expected to receive a new tourist flow, in parallel with the scientific work.
Similarly, other recent discoveries followed a similar path. In April, Egypt announced the secret chamber found in the Pyramid of Khufu and sealed 4,500 years ago, with an immediate effect on local tourism.
Comparison: 83 Mezcala sculptures versus previous Mexica collection
- 83 anthropomorphic green stone figurines, Mezcala style (Guerrero)
- 6 tepetlacalli reunited from Stage IVa (3 new + 3 already known)
- 4,000+ malacological elements from the Pacific and the Caribbean
- 600 to 1,000 kg per sculpture — moved by ropes, levers, and rollers
- 1440–1469: the reign of Motecuhzoma Ilhuicamina
In comparison, previous offerings usually gathered between 5 and 30 pieces each. According to the INAH bulletin, the newly reunited ensemble is the largest ceremonial act documented from the fifth tlatoani.
According to recent parallels, the closest case comes from Europe. The medieval city of Rungholt, rediscovered in the North Sea, presents the same challenge: a lot of material, little time, fragile context.
Caveat: the Templo Mayor offering is still undergoing conservation
According to the PTM/INAH, the pieces are still undergoing stabilization. According to Latinus, the exhibition schedule depends on the pace of chemical cleaning.
On the other hand, some malacological elements are still awaiting complete identification. Biologist Zúñiga Arellano coordinates the biological work in INAH’s laboratory.
Would Brazil have the capacity to organize an unprecedented exhibition uniting six ritual deposits separated in excavations from 1970, 1991, 2023, and 2026? INAH’s institutional logistics offer a direct case study.
Nevertheless, the Templo Mayor offering ensemble already has a scheduled date to become a public exhibition. The setup is expected to occur in a later phase, still without a closed public schedule.
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