Scientists announced on Thursday that a massive rack of sacrificial human skulls has been excavated at the Templo Mayor ruin site in Mexico City, FOX News Latino has learned.
Found on the western side of the complex between February and June, the trophy rack or "tzompantli" is where severed heads of the Aztecs' human sacrifices are displayed. The skulls are suspended vertically or horizontally on wooden poles, where they are arranged and pushed together side by side.
The rack "was a show of might," as per archeologist Eduardo Matos. The display of decomposing heads is used by the Aztecs to showcase strength to their friends and foes.
According to News Discovery, the rack is approximately 34 meters in length and 12 meters in width. It dates back between 1485 and 1502. Most of the skulls are from young adult men, but there are also women and children.
The report further notes that the rack's platform is "made of rows of skulls mortared together," which form a circle with the skulls facing inward.
Archeologists have currently unearthed 35 skulls, but "there are many more in underlying layers," according to Raul Barrera of the National Institute of Anthropology via Daily Mail. "As we continue to dig the number is going to rise a lot," he continues.
Archeologist Susan Gillespie, who is not a part of the project, notes the uniqueness of the discovery. She said, "I do not personally know of other instances of literal skulls becoming architectural material to be mortared together to make a structure."
She further explains that the "skull rack" should be referred to as "head rack" for accuracy as the heads are displayed "while still fresh."
The rack has been discovered under a historical three-story colonial era house. This means that the archeologists have to work in tight, two-meter excavation wells.
Barrera notes that past excavations have suggested that there's a "ceremonial site" near the area, and the rack's location fits the description.
But how were these skulls sacrificed?
Daily Mail explains that during a typical ritual, four priests will lay down the human sacrifice at the top of a temple. Using a ceremonial flint knife, a fifth priest will slice "through the diaphragm and split open the chest." The priest will pull out the sacrifice's still-beating heart, placing it in a bowl held by a statue of the god to be honored. The body will then be discarded by throwing and letting it roll down the temple's stairs.