Archaeological Explorations in Escalerillas Street, City of Mexico: Vol. 1

Leopoldo Batres was the official archaeologist during Porfirio Diaz’s government. One of Batres’ most polemic works was the reconstruction of the Pyramid of the Sun at Teotihuacan. By 1900, new sanitation work was to begin in the center of Mexico City, Batres saw this occasion as a unique opportunity for the discovery and safeguard of the treasures buried in the area. This book is the story of his effort, his struggles against the contractors in charge of the excavation and finally his findings. The last part, no doubt the best, reads like a diary in which he carefully recorded the objects found, their composition and their possible use inside of the Aztec cultural context.