Mexico’s Pompeii: The latest technology helps us understand how the City of the Dead of Mitla disappeared

Lyobaa, or Mitla, is one of the most emblematic places in pre-Hispanic Mexico. Its very name in Zapotec already arouses curiosity: ‘Place of Tombs’ or ‘City of the Dead’. It was the eternal resting place of Zapotec kings and high priests, but at some point in the Postclassic period, the inhabitants began to abandon the area in a migratory movement that had nothing to do with the arrival of the Spanish. That is something that would happen later.

HE esteem which came to house a population of more than 10,000 people and, together with Mexico City and Teotihuacan, was one of the most important sites in pre-Hispanic Mexico. However, Something must have happened for the population to abandon the place. And for years, some have argued that what happened was a landslide that buried the city.

This is believed to have occurred at the end of the 15th century, but despite the excavations, no evidence had been found to support the theory. Until now. A team made up of scientists from the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), the Faculty of Engineering and the Institute of Geophysics of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and archaeologists from the ARX Project Association have found the key to understanding the reason for the abandonment of the ‘House of Tombs’ in pre-Hispanic times.

Mitla, the Pompeii of Oaxaca

When we talk about the disaster of Pompeii, we give all the credit to Vesuvius. It is more than justified because the eruption was the one that ended life in the city and He burned down whoever he caught in front of him (something that has been good for us because it has allowed us to preserve structures in perfect condition, papyrus scrolls that we are deciphering and even the genome of a Pompeian).

However, apart from the volcano, Pompeii suffered an earthquake that also caused havoc. It is fascinating to realize that such an imposing civilization or city can disappear from one moment to the next due to a natural disaster.

We know a lot about Pompeii, and with the same intention of unraveling the mysteries of Mitla, the Lyobaa Project was born. Apart from the INAH and the UNAM, ARX Project has participated in this study. It is an association that uses noninvasive exploration techniques (electrical resistivity tomography, seismic noise reaction tomography and ground penetrating radars) to investigate the subsurface.

In Mitla, they had already made great progress, discovering a network of tunnels using these techniques to study the subsoil of the large Catholic church in the area. And, fully engaged in the study, the INAH clarifies that the Mitla area is located in a seismically active zone. This is what gave rise to the hypothesis of the landslide that covered the city and, with the resonance methods applied, it seems to be confirmed.

Equipment used to investigate the subsoil without excavation

The researchers placed nine ground measurement stations: three north of the Mitla Archaeological Zone, another at the foot of one of the alleged avalanches, two in Adobe and Arroyo, and three others south of the archaeological site. Using this noninvasive technique, the team was able to perform a resonance that yielded an interesting result: The subsoil of the entire area is made up of irregular layers with components such as ignimbrites and volcanic mud, as well as soft soil deposits.

This would confirm the avalanche hypothesis and give further validity to previous geological studies indicating that part of the original settlement of Mitla was buried under a large layer of rock. It has also led researchers to propose that the collapse that buried the city was caused by a large earthquake, of magnitude six or seven, which moved a large volume of dry land.

It is a good explanation for understanding why the Zapotecs abandoned their great ‘City of the Dead’ and represents another step in the consolidation of these non-invasive exploration techniques that are allowing us to discover more and more details about the Mexican subsoil and the civilizations that inhabited the area.

And, apart from understanding the reasons for Mitla’s abandonment, this technology also allows for estimates of the state of the structures in the archaeological complex. Now it remains to continue investigating because it is clear that Mitla hides much more than it seemed.

Images | ARX ​​Project, INAH

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