Tomb of a 16th-century Catholic priest found in remains of Aztec temple

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/tomb-of-a-16th-century-catholic-priest-found-in-remains-of-aztec-temple/2016/04/15/0aa7800e-0262-11e6-9d36-33d198ea26c5_story.html

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Archaeologists have found a stone slab covering the tomb of one of the first Catholic priests in Mexico, a grave sunk into the floor of what appears to be an Aztec temple.

The discovery suggests the extent to which the Spanish reused the temples of the Aztec capital in the first years after capturing it in 1521. The huge slab was uncovered in recent days at the site of the first cathedral of Mexico City, built in 1524 yards from the current cathedral, which replaced it in the 1620s.

The slab, more than six feet long, lay on the same plane as the stucco floor of what appears to have been an Aztec temple. The cathedral was simply built over the temple and seems to have used the same floor. The Spaniards apparently gave the floor only a thin coat of lime whitewash before using it for their church.

“The Spaniards — Hernan Cortés and his followers — made use of the pre-Hispanic structures, the temples, the foundations, the floors,” said Raul Barrera, an archaeologist for Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History. “They even used the walls, the floors. They couldn’t destroy everything all at once.”

The name of Miguel de Palomares, a prominent priest at the time, was found carved on the slab. Archaeologists must still confirm it as his burial place, and hope to find his remains when they lift the piece of stone in coming weeks. De Palomares died in 1542 and was buried inside the old cathedral.

Within 30 years of his burial, the first cathedral was already deemed too small and in need of too much repair to serve the thriving new colony. The second cathedral was built next to it between 1573 and the 1620s, when the old cathedral was torn down and, apparently, quickly forgotten.

Archaeologists have long known that the Spaniards often appeared to prefer to build their churches atop Aztec temples, but it was thought that was for symbolic purposes, to signal the displacement of old Aztec gods by the Christian church.

But it also may have been a practical decision, as the pre-Hispanic temples had good foundations, walls and floors that the Spaniards could use, saving them the trouble of building new ones.

The grave slab was found by accident, when engineers were trying to dig foundations for lampposts to illuminate the current cathedral.