Archeologists have uncovered a third hidden structure inside the famous Mayan pyramid in Mexico, almost 100 years after the entire ancient temple was first discovered and explored.
The Temple of Kukulcan (or the El Castillo pyramid) in Chichen Itza, Yucatan Peninsula was apparently built in three phases. The three structures within each pyramid were constructed hundreds of years apart from each other.
In this new study, scientists suggest that the smallest pyramid measuring 10 meters in height was built between 550 to 800 C.E. during the peak of the Mayan civilization.
There are two other pyramid structures built around this smallest pyramid at 20 meters and 30 meters which are created between 300 years and then 600 years later.
The El Castillo was first discovered in 1924, and U.S. archaeologists began to explore and restore the massive pyramid. A second pyramid inside the structure was discovered in 1936.
According to the head researcher Rene Chavez Seguro of the National Autonomous University of Mexico, the pyramid is built like a Russian nesting doll where under the largest structure there is another hidden inside another then another and so on.
Researchers used a special non-invasive method known as 3D electrical tomography to detect this third chamber with the help of electrical pulses.
According to archaeologist Denisse Lorenia Argote of Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History, further research into the newly found structure in the Temple of Kukulcan can provide important clues about the first inhabitants around the temple.
Mayans are believed to have built the pyramids on top of each other because the structures were crumbling apart or a new leader arrived and took over. Recently, Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History closed the inner chambers of the El Castillo to preserve it and further prevent it from deterioration.
Last year, scientists also discovered that the Kukulkan pyramid was apparently built on a "cenote" or a sinkhole, causing the temple to sink underground.
These new findings can provide new insights about the Mayan culture before Mexico was populated by other ethnicities in the region.