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The cadaver of an Aztec palace where emperor Moctezuma II was held confined by the Spanish and killed in 1520 has been discovered in Mexico City .
Historical record say that the Spanish conquistadorHernan Cortestook Moctezuma II ( also known as Moctezuma Xocoyotzin , sometimes also spelled Montezuma ) hostage and held him in the palace in an seek to thrust the emperor to control theAztecpopulation . The people quickly rebelled and put down military blockade to the Spaniards in the castle . The Spanish tried to quell the rising by having Moctezuma II destination the rebels from a palace balcony ; but the rebels refused to block off their beleaguering and the emperor butterfly was kill in the crossfire .
Archaeologists found the remains of a basalt slab floor from the Aztec palace.
Related : photo : Aztec subjugation reshaped ancient mass
The Spanish conquistadors finally destroyed the rebel forces along with the Aztec metropolis ofTenochtitlan(where modern - day Mexico City is located ) . The surviving Aztec people were force to progress a new city over the laying waste of Tenochtitlan . A house for Cortes , which was also discovered by archaeologists during the excavation , was build over the remains of the palace .
Reusing sculptures
They found the palace rest — which let in basalt slab floors that may have been part of a plaza — beneath an eighteenth century cat’s-paw shop . The archeologist also found that carving from the palace were reuse like blocks to work up Hernan Cortes ' theatre .
One sculpture render " a feather serpent " that appears to show Quetzalcóatl , a god that had been widely worshipped across Mesoamerica for millennia prior to the Spanish conquest , archaeologists from Mexico ’s National Institute of Anthropology and Historysaid in a statement . Another sculpture that limn " a headgear of feathers " also appear to be from the castle and was also reused to progress Cortes firm , the archaeologists find .
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Sculptures from the Aztec palace were reused to build the house of conquistador Hernan Cortes.(Image credit: Raúl Barrera R./PAU-INAH)
The uncovering of the castle and Cortes ' house " revives the memory of those historic event , five centuries later " the archaeologists said in the statement .
They made the discoveries during digging work lead beneath the Nacional monte de Piedad , a pawnshop founded in 1775 that aimed to make it gentle for the poor to borrow money .
The excavation workplace was carried out prior to overhaul oeuvre being done on the edifice . Today , the Nacional monte de Piedad is a nonprofit foundation that perform a wide range of kindly work throughout Mexico .
Remains of a house built for Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortes were also discovered by the archaeologists.(Image credit: Raúl Barrera R./PAU-INAH)
Originally issue on Live Science .
This palace was built from the remains of the destroyed Aztec palace.(Image credit: Raúl Barrera R./PAU-INAH)
