Latin America
Related: About this forumCan't afford to forget this one, it will gain importance: The World's Largest Pyramid Is Hidden Within a Hill in Mexico
![](https://arkeonews.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Great-Pyramid-of-Cholula-min.jpeg)
The largest and tallest pyramids in the world are incredible feats of design, engineering, and construction. The Great Pyramid of Giza often gets the crown when talking about pyramids. However, the temple at Cholula dwarfs the Great Pyramid at Giza.
Hiding under the grass, trees and soil sits the Great Pyramid of Cholula, deemed the largest monument ever built on Earth, with a base four times the size of the Great Pyramid of Giza.
The Great Pyramid of Cholula, known to the locals as Tlachihualtepetl (man-made mountain), stands around 66 meters (216 feet) tall and 450 meters (1,475 feet) wide. It has a volume nearly twice the size of the Great Pyramid, the largest of the three famous pyramids of Giza. Archaeologists believe the mysterious complex was built sometime around 300 BCE, though they cant agree on who exactly built it.
The Great Pyramid of Tepanapa, also known as the Great Pyramid of Cholula, is a 2,400-year-old man-made structure located in Mexico. It was completely overlooked by the Spanish army during their 1519 invasion.
![](https://arkeonews.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Tourists-climbing-the-steps-at-the-base-of-the-Great-Pyramid-of-Cholula-give-an-insight-into-its-scale.-Fabio-Imhoff-min.jpeg)
Tourists climbing the steps at the base of the Great Pyramid of Cholula, give an insight into its scale. Fabio Imhoff
Cholula is located near the capital Tenochtitlan and was one of the most important cities in the Aztec Empire. It was home to about 100,000 people and known for its bustling markets and fine trade goods. The city was believed to be incredibly sacred and the people constructed a holy pyramid for every day of the year.
In 1519, Hernan Cortez and his men marched into the city and massacred 10 percent of the population, building a tiny church on top of a massive hill as a symbol of their conquest. One of those, the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Remediosa, was to become effectively a hat, after it was unknowingly placed on top of the Great Pyramid of Cholula.
The pyramid actually boasts the longest occupation by humans of any building, helped along by its Spanish church bonnet. A lofty claim for the largest monument ever constructed by humans in Mesoamerica.
![](https://arkeonews.net/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/the-Iglesia-de-Nuestra-Sen%CC%83ora-de-los-Remediosa.jpeg)
The Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Remediosa.
More:
https://arkeonews.net/the-worlds-largest-pyramid-is-hidden-within-a-hill-in-mexico/
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TlalocW
(15,549 posts)In high school and college. Passageways have been excavated through the pyramids (plural). Tribes in the area tended to ritually destroy things every 52 years then rebuild on the ruins. So you can walk through them and see how the layers differed. Funnily enough, the group I was with both times had the same guide. He laughed when I told him. Down the hill one one side is an ampitheater that's been partially excavated. It was thought that theatrical works and important speeches were given there because the design of it amplifies your voice.
Think. Again.
(14,902 posts)Cheezoholic
(2,377 posts)Look at the 3rd picture what do you see? I see a giant pyramid behind the one that was built. People were surrounded by these giant pyramids or told stories of them or saw drawings of them. Besides the shape being the best design for building something massive with the tools at the time I really think mountains were the natural inspiration, not someone from Magrathea
wolfie001
(3,000 posts)Should've already been done!
Hermit-The-Prog
(36,123 posts)Solly Mack
(91,533 posts)DFW
(55,822 posts)I always wonder how many more of these things are yet to be discovered.