Ancient Mexican City Threatened by New Building
2021-06-06
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1An illegal building project is threatening one of North America's greatest treasures: the ancient pyramids in central Mexico.
2The project may harm the remains of temples and about 24 other ancient buildings.
3The illegal project is next to the Teotihuacan archeological area.
4Building anything new there is illegal.
5The owner of the land, however, has ignored orders from Mexico's antiquities organization (INAH) to stop for the past two months.
6Many Mexicans are angry that officials are failing to protect the ruins of Teotihuacan, a place visited every year by large numbers of people.
7Reuters news agency was unable to find or question the owner, whose name has not been made public.
8Rogelio Rivero Chong is the director of Teotihuacan's archeological area.
9He said the failure by police to stop the project showed the property owner's "total impunity."
10In late April, the INAH brought a complaint to the government.
11Federal prosecutors charged the owner with "damage to archeological patrimony."
12In recent weeks, the INAH documented ongoing building in the area by 60 workers.
13That information came from Mexico's Cultural Ministry.
14However, the prosecutors' office did not answer Reuters' questions about the case.
15Teotihuacan is about 50 kilometers northeast of Mexico City.
16It once was home to about 100,000 people who mostly lived in colorful stone houses.
17People lived in that city at about the same time that Mayan culture had reached a high level to the south.
18But Teotihuacan is known for its own art and architecture.
19It grew rich for a period of 600 years until about 550 because of trading with other cities.
20It had an economy built on creating goods such as clothing and metal blades, or knives.
21Rivero Chong said officials have struggled for years to stop illegal building.
22The building is often done at night and local government officials often arrive too late, he said.
23A tall wall surrounds the illegal building area.
24It is in what is believed to be one of the ancient city's oldest parts.
25A past archeological report said the area held at least three temples and 25 other ancient buildings.
26Teotihuacan was named a world heritage site by the United Nations cultural agency, UNESCO, in 1987.
27The naming requires government protection of the area, said Rivero Chong.
28In recent days, a number of leading archeological experts have asked the government to act.
29"For me, this really hurts," said Linda Manzanilla.
30She is a Teotihuacan archeologist with Mexico's National Autonomous University.
31During one of her projects there in the 1980s, she found a housing complex in Oztoyahualco where workers once lived.
32It was next to a workshop near the three temples that are now under threat.
33She said the latest illegal building is in an area just west of the Moon Pyramid.
34Near the illegal work, other research has found beautifully colored ancient buildings that were created around the central spaces of the city.
35"It's very likely that there are very large complexes there," she said.
36I'm Susan Shand.
1An illegal building project is threatening one of North America's greatest treasures: the ancient pyramids in central Mexico. The project may harm the remains of temples and about 24 other ancient buildings. 2The illegal project is next to the Teotihuacan archeological area. Building anything new there is illegal. The owner of the land, however, has ignored orders from Mexico's antiquities organization (INAH) to stop for the past two months. Many Mexicans are angry that officials are failing to protect the ruins of Teotihuacan, a place visited every year by large numbers of people. 3Reuters news agency was unable to find or question the owner, whose name has not been made public. 4Rogelio Rivero Chong is the director of Teotihuacan's archeological area. He said the failure by police to stop the project showed the property owner's "total impunity." 5In late April, the INAH brought a complaint to the government. Federal prosecutors charged the owner with "damage to archeological patrimony." In recent weeks, the INAH documented ongoing building in the area by 60 workers. That information came from Mexico's Cultural Ministry. However, the prosecutors' office did not answer Reuters' questions about the case. 6Teotihuacan is about 50 kilometers northeast of Mexico City. It once was home to about 100,000 people who mostly lived in colorful stone houses. 7People lived in that city at about the same time that Mayan culture had reached a high level to the south. But Teotihuacan is known for its own art and architecture. It grew rich for a period of 600 years until about 550 because of trading with other cities. It had an economy built on creating goods such as clothing and metal blades, or knives. 8Rivero Chong said officials have struggled for years to stop illegal building. The building is often done at night and local government officials often arrive too late, he said. 9A tall wall surrounds the illegal building area. It is in what is believed to be one of the ancient city's oldest parts. A past archeological report said the area held at least three temples and 25 other ancient buildings. 10Teotihuacan was named a world heritage site by the United Nations cultural agency, UNESCO, in 1987. The naming requires government protection of the area, said Rivero Chong. 11In recent days, a number of leading archeological experts have asked the government to act. "For me, this really hurts," said Linda Manzanilla. She is a Teotihuacan archeologist with Mexico's National Autonomous University. 12During one of her projects there in the 1980s, she found a housing complex in Oztoyahualco where workers once lived. It was next to a workshop near the three temples that are now under threat. 13She said the latest illegal building is in an area just west of the Moon Pyramid. Near the illegal work, other research has found beautifully colored ancient buildings that were created around the central spaces of the city. 14"It's very likely that there are very large complexes there," she said. 15I'm Susan Shand. 16The Reuters News Agency reported this story. Susan Shand adapted it for Learning English. Mario Ritter, Jr. was the editor. 17_______________________________________________________________ 18Words in This Story 19pyramid - n. a very large structure built especially in ancient Egypt that has a square base and four triangular sides which form a point at the top 20archaeology - n. the study of past human life and of the things that people made in the past 21antiquities - n. objects from ancient times 22impunity - n. freedom from punishment, harm, or loss 23prosecutor - n.one who represents the state when charges are brought against someone accused of a crime. 24patrimony - n. things that are from the past; property that you receive from your father when he dies 25heritage - n. the things that are inherited from a family member 26complex -n. a group of buildings that are used for a certain purpose 27complaint -n. a formal charge saying that someone has done something wrong 28temple -n. a building for worship 29We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments Section, and visit our Facebook page.