The seventh field season of the Project Plaza of the Columns Complex took place from July to September 2023. A team of field and laboratory personnel, archaeologists and specialists participated in the various activities.

This field season 29 pits were excavated in Fronts A, D (Plaza of the Columns), and F (Plaza North of the Sun Pyramid). Here we present the most relevant discoveries from this field season.

Front A: a big staircase

In this front, a quadrant approximately 3.7 m deep was excavated. The primary discovery was a large staircase with at least four steps, the only remains of an ancient building. It was evident that this staircase continues beyond the excavation limits to the east, where the Avenue of the Dead is located. For this reason, we hypothesize that this staircase might have been used to climb to one of the buildings that delimit the Avenue.

Front D: the spaces within a building

Structure 44 has been explored in previous field seasons (2017, 2018, 2022) and is considered an enigmatic building because some of its characteristics are not typical of Teotihuacan. In 2023, the western part was further explored, revealing at least three rooms and one patio displaying evidence of fire exposure. This was also registered last season in the same structure, as well as in other areas (Front D 2022, Front C 2017). A massive fire that was targeted on important buildings took place during the final stage of Teotihuacan and is obviously related to its collapse. Once the lab analyses of the contexts are completed, we will gain a better understanding of this event.

Front F: another deposit related to a feast

This season, the excavations of the eastern wall to find the northeastern limit continued, and it was finally located. With this evidence we now know that the Plaza North of the Sun Pyramid Complex is larger than we initially thought.

Additionally, another unit was excavated in a structure adjacent to the Avenue of the Dead. Underneath the structure, another deposit with materials such as ceramics, bone, and obsidian, similar to Offering D1 was found. Though smaller in scale, it contains the remains of another ceremonial feast.