Cholula, Mexico

Cholula is a city and district located in the center west of the state of Puebla, next to the city of Puebla de Zaragoza, in central Mexico. Cholula is best known for its Great Pyramid, with the Nuestra Señora de los Remedios sanctuary on top and its numerous churches. The city and district are divided into two, San Pedro Cholula and San Andrés Cholula, which together are officially called the Distrito Cholula de Rivadavia.

The pyramid is small part of the archeological zone of Cholula, which is estimated at 154 hectares (380 acres).  Building of the pyramid began in the pre Classic period and over time was built over six times to its final dimensions of 120 metres on each side at the base and eighteen meters tall.  This base is four times the size of that of the Great Pyramid of Giza and is the largest pyramid base in the Americas.  Two of the stages of construction use talud-tablero architecture which was also used in Teotihuacan.  Some of the pyramid constructions have had burials, with skeletons found in various positions, with many offerings, especially ceramics.  The last state of construction has stairs on the west side leading to a temple on top, which faced Iztaccíhuatl.

However, the pyramid has been overgrown for centuries. In the 12th century, after the Toltec-Chichimecas took over the city, religious focus shifted away from the pyramid and to a new temple. By the time the Spanish arrived, the pyramid was overgrown, and by the 19th century it was still undisturbed, with only the church built in the 16th century visible.

Exploration of the pyramid began in 1931 under architect Ignacio Marquina who dug tunnels to explore the substructures. The successive pyramids and other structures of the site have been given letters and numbers to identify them, with 'Building A' designating the first pyramid constructed. Two major sets of explorations were undertaken at the site. The first was between 1931 and 1957, and the second was between 1966 and 1974.

Tunnel entrance ..

Steps of the first pyramid layer ...

Steps of the third pyramid layer ...