According to the researchers, a third pyramid was found within the Kukulkan pyramid in Mexico. The construction is approximately 33 feet, and it was found between other two structures that were formerly discovered. As the data suggests, the pyramid seems to have been built in three different phases, showing an entire perspective on the ancient civilization.
In 2015, a team of archaeologists used electrical imaging to find the pyramid called El Castillo. During their research, they suggested that the construction was raised over a subterranean river. While the newest pyramid was only discovered recently, scientists knew there had to be another construction within the greater temple.
According to their statements from Nov. 16, the team of archaeologists has observed a third structure inside the other two they had previously found. In order to find this building, the team has employed a 3D electric resistivity tomography instrument called ERT-3D.
New Research Opportunities
The researchers believe that their latest discovery was encapsulated within the greater one sometime around 900 A.D., during the last phase of construction.
The finding opens a new series of archeological interests in the area, as it could offer significant data on the inhabitants that populated the pyramid during the first phase of its construction.
According to one of the researchers, the inner structure seems to have had an altar as well as staircase, which further suggests an entire lifestyle of its inhabitants of the Mayan civilization at the time.
According to the statements of the researchers at the National Institute of Anthropology and History in Mexico, this first inner structure could date from the first "pure Maya" period and style, which took place sometime between 500 A.D. and 800 A.D.
A Russian Nesting Doll
The middle structure was first observed back in the 1930s, and the archaeological data suggests that it dates from the years 800 A.D. to 1000 A.D., and the large structure was finished building around 1050 and 1300.
As one of the researchers puts it, the entire structure looks very similar to a Russian nesting doll, as the large structure incorporates a smaller one, which is home to an even smaller one. Aside from the geometrical proportion this entire discovery implies, another factor that may have contributed to the architecture of the pyramids is the increased population, which required more and more space as the time passed.
The technique used by the researchers in order to investigate the premises is not intrusive toward the archaeological site, which allowed them to discover and examine what could have been the original structure that helped building the other two macrostructures around it over time.
