The lost tombs of Mitla

A mysterious megalithic tomb known locally as the "Cross of Xaaga" was discovered and photographed in 1902 on the hills overlooking the ancient site of Mitla, in Central Mexico.
This is a unique megalithic structure, consisting of a cruciform chamber built of immense stone blocks measuring as much as 6 meters long, all finely fitted and jointed together. The estimated weight of some of the megalithic stone blocks is in excess of 50 tons. Several unfinished stone blocks were reportedly found abandoned in a nearby quarry, suggesting that work on the tomb was never completed.

Some picture of the find from a 1909 paper can be found here:

Guiaroo Tomb - Savile, 1902 - Photo 1

Guiaroo Tomb - Saville, 1902 - Photo 2

Over the past century, the location of this mysterious tomb has apparently been lost.
The architectural style appears similar to that of the megalithic tombs of Mitla and vicinity, although on an even grander and more monumental scale.

More pictures and a description of similar tombs at Mitla can be found following the link below:

Uncharted Ruins - The lost tombs of Mitla

The general workmanship of the stones, including the quality of their cutting, fitting and jointing, makes them one of the most extraordinary testimonies of megalithic architecture in Mesoamerica.

This is even more mysterious in a region usually considered as lacking significant vestiges of megalithic or other "cyclopean" construction, which are more frequently associated with the Andean region of Peru and South America. Even more so if one considers that all these structures were allegedly built without the aid of metal tools and with just the most primitive stone implements.

Local legends describe these structures as the work of the Gods, a foreign race who came in ancient times to bring civilization to these lands and then vanished. Could this be just another forgotten site of the global megalithic civilization?

a reply to: NeoIkonEpifanes

Nice...thats one I have not heard of! I appreciate the heads up

a reply to: NeoIkonEpifanes

Nice find. I've always heard rumors of an ancient underground tunnel system throughout the Andes region that the Incas used but did not build themselves. Mitla just seems like it would be associated with that. There's still no plausible explanation for intricate stonework like that.

👍

a reply to: NeoIkonEpifanes

I'm a tad puzzled by the term "megalith" which I haven't seen applied to Pre-Columbian architecture. When I think of megaliths, I think of things like Stonehenge or the Dolmen tombs and not carved and polished stonework.

Wikipedia and other sources say that it's the work of the Zapotecs and might be as old as 900 BC (which is actually pretty new.) There's also a nice (long-ish but well written) article on the tombs - a free PDF dated 1899.

The Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History has a long-ish article on these structures that you can read at this link. I was surprised to find out that they've been known since the 1830's... and I don't think (from what I see) that they're "lost."

This page, which draws information from several sources, says that they're the tombs of the priest-kings and has a lot of photos and other information, including the deities worshiped there.

originally posted by: AgarthaSeed
a reply to: NeoIkonEpifanes
There's still no plausible explanation for intricate stonework like that.

Zapotecs, sometime after 500 AD. Lots of other structures and statues just like those.

ATS flashback! Great content, never heard of the place!

a reply to: Byrd

The ruins of Mitla are generally considered the work of the Mixtecs, who gradually took control of many earlier Zapotec sites (including the Zapotec capital at Monte Alban) over the course of the 7th to 9th Century AD.
Mitla was one of the main center of the Mixtecs, and probably played the role of a sacred city or federal sanctuary for a confederation of city-states which included the nearby sites of Zaachila, Lambityeco and Teotitlán del Valle.

Because the Mixtecs resettled many earlier sites in the region of Oaxaca, it is unknown whether the peculiar stoneworking technique that we see at Mitla was a genuinely Mixtec tradition or was somehow inherited from the earlier inhabitants of the site. Very much as in the case of the Incas of Peru, these megalithic edifices could rather be evidence of the reoccupation of earlier sites.
This is particularly evident at Mitla, Xaaga and Guiaroo (where the "lost" tomb mentioned in the article above is supposedly located, according to early informers). The megalithic portions of the palaces there (particularly the subterranean chambers) show a level of workmanship which is far superior to that of the constructions above ground. It is even possible that the Mixtecs copied the architecture of these earlier structures. Without knowledge of the techniques employed by the original builders for cutting and dressing large monoliths, they used smaller stones and realized stone mosaics, whereas the architecture of the portions below ground is strictly monolithic. Also, they might have reused a number of megalithic stone blocks that lay abandoned from the original constructions.

Even if the megalithic structures were the work of the Mixtecs, then the question would be from where did they inherit their peculiar stone-working technique and the use of immense megalithic stone blocks weighing as much as 50 tons. This style of construction is virtually unknown in Mesoamerica and certainly did not belong to the Zapotecs of Monte Alban as shown by the much cruder quality of the constructions there.

originally posted by: AgarthaSeed
a reply to: NeoIkonEpifanes

Nice find. I've always heard rumors of an ancient underground tunnel system throughout the Andes region that the Incas used but did not build themselves.

Reminds me of a part of an old SNES video game called Illusion of Gaia that piqued my interest in ancient cultures. You get shipwrecked and wind up with an unknown tribe that had been trapped in these ancient tunnels for so long that they forgot their origins.

It's fascinating that there is still so much lost in time that we might never recover, and how much more in tune with using the materials of the earth some of these civilizations seemed to be, especially when it comes to adorning their structures with artwork. Great find OP

a reply to: NeoIkonEpifanes

Thanks for the correction. Do you have some links you can add? The papers I found on the cruciform tombs (discussed in the OP) were all decades old and only mentioned the Zapotec.

originally posted by: Sacreligion

originally posted by: AgarthaSeed
a reply to: NeoIkonEpifanes

Nice find. I've always heard rumors of an ancient underground tunnel system throughout the Andes region that the Incas used but did not build themselves.

Reminds me of a part of an old SNES video game called Illusion of Gaia that piqued my interest in ancient cultures. You get shipwrecked and wind up with an unknown tribe that had been trapped in these ancient tunnels for so long that they forgot their origins.

It's fascinating that there is still so much lost in time that we might never recover, and how much more in tune with using the materials of the earth some of these civilizations seemed to be, especially when it comes to adorning their structures with artwork. Great find OP

Haha I remember that game somewhat. SNES was filled with classic RPGs!

a reply to: NeoIkonEpifanes

Hi N,

It might be worth noting, this period is about when the coastal people of this region started oceanic trade with south america. I had posted of this in the past, i will try to find my references. Two weeks to sail from ecuador to mexico hauling cargoes up to 60-80T.