First Images of the Interior of Teotihuacan Tunnel Captured by Camera on Small Robot
Robot-car Tlaloque I enters the tunnel located below the Temple of the Feathered Serpent Temple. Photo: Melitón Tapia/INAH.
MEXICO CITY.- The first images of the interior of the tunnel found under
the Feathered Serpent Temple, in Teotihuacan, captured by a small robot
introduced by archaeologists of the National Institute of Anthropology
and History (INAH), were presented to the media due to the relevance of
the event in the history of Mexican archaeological research. This is
the first time a robot is integrated to archaeological exploration in
Mexico; a similar devise was used in Egypt 10 years ago to explore a
tomb. Tlaloque 1, named after the mythological beings that helped
Tlaloc, covered the first stretch of a tunnel that has not been walked
for 1,800 years. Images reveal that the passageway built more than 2,000
years ago to represent the underworld, is stable enough to be explored
by archaeologists soon.
The current investigators of the tunnel (or man-made cave) that was found
below the Temple of the Feathered Serpent in late 2003 has sent in a
small car-robot called Tlaloque I
(named after the helpers of the rain god Tlaloc). The robot has
obtained footage of the first meters of the tunnel that was sealed 1,800
years ago. This is the first time a robot has been used in
archaeological research in Mexico (a similar device has been used in
Egypt). The tunnel appears to be stable enough for archaeologists to
enter in the near future.
Earlier investigations with ground penetrating radar have detected that the
roughly 100 m long, 2.5 m high and 4 m wide tunnel leads to three
chambers. The tunnel is filled with dirt and stone but the robot could
run for a short distance in a small space located in between the fill
and the vaulted ceiling.
