The ARX Project
Archaeology Research and Exploration
NEWS & ARTICLES ARCHIVE
In this page you will find all our archived articles and news since 2020
July 23, 2024 - By Marco M. Vigato
Project Lyobaa - Revealing the secrets of the Mitla Underworld
In September 2023, the second phase of Project Lyobaa revealed an even more extensive network of subterranean chambers and tunnels under the archaeological site of Mitla, Oaxaca. These latest findings, obtained with the use of geophysical methods, confirm the ancient legends and colonial accounts that speak of a lost subterranean labyrinth under the site, considered by the ancient Zapotecs to be an entrance to the Underworld, or Lyobaa.
July 20, 2024 - By Marco M. Vigato
New megalithic discoveries from San Miguel Ixtapan
Since 2021, our team has been conducting research at the archaeological site of San Miguel Ixtapan, in the South of the State of Mexico, uncovering over a dozen megalithic stone slabs with enigmatic geometric carvings that may belong to a yet unknown megalithic civilization with possible connections with the Andean cultures of Peru and Bolivia, in far-away South America.
June 10, 2023 - By Marco M. Vigato
Project Lyobaa - Results from the first season (2022)
On May 12th, 2023, the Project Lyobaa research team presented the results of the first phase of the geophysical scan of the archaeological site of Mitla, Oaxaca, aimed at uncovering evidence of a complex system of caves and subterranean passageways underneath the site, considered by the ancient Zapotecs to be an entrance to the Underworld, or Lyobaa. The preliminary findings confirm the existence of a large void under the Church.
December 4, 2021 - By Marco M. Vigato
Recovery of a 5-ton megalithic stone slab in San Miguel Ixtapan
We are happy to announce the successful recovery of the largest megalithic slab discovered so far at the archaeological site of San Miguel Ixtapan, Mexico. The slab, with an estimated weight of over 5 tons when entire, was sadly broken up into at least 4 pieces by looters. The surviving fragments have now been reassembled and moved to the site museum of San Miguel Ixtapan for conservation.
November 5, 2021 - By Marco M. Vigato
San Miguel Ixtapan: The Mexican Tiwanaku?
Dozens of precisely carved megalithic stone slabs of a type unknown in Mesoamerica have been discovered near the small village of San Miguel Ixtapan, in the South of the State of Mexico, and may hint to a possible Andean influence from South America in Central Mexico. These slabs are possibly the finest stone artifacts ever discovered in ancient Mesoamerica and belong to a yet unknown civilization that may be related to the mysterious Mezcala culture.
November 30, 2020 - By Marco M. Vigato
Huehuepiaxtla, Puebla: The Lost City of the Eagle
Perched on top of nearly vertical cliffs in the central Mexican state of Puebla lie the ruins of a mysterious lost city of cyclopean stone platforms and pyramids, with mysterious hieroglyphs and sculptures that may be evidence of a very early Olmec presence in this remote part of Mexico bordering the Balsas river and the western Mixteca region.
November 22, 2020 - By Marco M. Vigato
Mitla: Mexico's real Temple of Doom
Under the village of Mitla, Oaxaca, famous for its magnificent decorated palaces, lies a labyrinth of subterranean chambers and tunnels still awaiting exploration, which the ancient Zapotecs believed to be an entrance to the Underworld, or Lyobaa. A 17th century document, lost in the archives of the Inquisition in Oaxaca, may lead to the entrance of this fabulous ancient labyrinth.
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November 17, 2020 - By Marco M. Vigato
Tamoanchan: Cradle of Mesoamerican Civilization?
The remote and thickly forested Sierra of Huautla, in the central Mexican state of Morelos, may hold the keys to the origins of Mesoamerican civilization and the remains of a yet unknown megalithic culture, contemporary with the Olmecs, which created a network of fortified citadels and cyclopean stone platforms unlike any others in ancient Mexico.