Looking out over Cholula from atop the world’s largest pyramid
(Photo: Lauren Kilroy-Ewbank, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

More than twenty years ago, I stood at the top of the world’s largest pyramid. It was a glorious day, the kind that makes you breathe in deeply and exhale loudly with a smile on your face all while feeling awed by what our human ancestors accomplished long before we were born. Billowing clouds, blue skies, chirping birds, and a light breeze made for the perfect day.

Fields of marigolds, with the volcanoes Popocatepetl (let) and Iztaccihuatl (right) in the background
(Photo: Lauren Kilroy-Ewbank, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Off in the distance, I spotted fields of bright orange marigolds and the snow-capped volcanoes Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl. Popo’s distinctive smoke also rose in the air.

Closer by, the sunny yellow church of Saint Gabriel the Archangel rose toward the sky. Directly behind me was another church, minuscule compared to the massive structure underneath my feet—and one far more ancient.

The Great Pyramid of Cholula with the Church of Our Lady of the Remedies on top
(Photo: Lauren Kilroy-Ewbank, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

This pyramid that I stood atop while taking in the gorgeous surroundings, is not only the largest pyramid in the world but also the largest monument ever constructed in the world, at least according to the Guinness Book of World Records.

And the world’s largest pyramid is not in Egypt—it’s in Mexico. I’d come to know it well, living a few blocks from it in the small city of Cholula, in the state of Puebla, about 70 miles south of Mexico City.

This enormous structure is known as the Great Pyramid of Cholula or Tlachihualtepetl in Nahuatl (an Indigenous language of Mexico spoken here). It’s impossible to visit the city and miss the pyramid towering over everything else, though today it’s mostly covered in grass and bushes and trees. The small Catholic church of Our Lady of the Remedies crowns the top.

The name Tlachihualtepetl means “human-made mountain” or “constructed mountain.” It’s a fitting name because this massive structure was built entirely of adobe or sun-dried bricks beginning more than 2,000 years ago. It was solid on the inside, with activities taking place before it and on it. Its base is 300 x 315 meters or 984 x 1,033 feet. That covers about 45 acres so the equivalent of about 34 football fields.

It’s also 54 meters or 177 feet high (though some estimates say 66 meters or 217 feet high), making it about 4.45 million cubic meters (though some accounts say 3.3 million). Estimates vary but that’s around 100 million adobe bricks! Imagine how long it took to make all those bricks and the labor involved in building this structure.

So why is that important? Who cares, right? Well, to put that in perspective the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt is about 2.5 million cubic meters—though the Great Pyramid in Giza is taller than the pyramid in Cholula. Tlachihualtepetl’s base is also four times bigger than the Giza pyramid.

In a nutshell, the largest pyramid in the world, here in Cholula, is absolutely massive.

Maybe you are wondering why this pyramid is located in Cholula. This city was an important trade center for a long time. Construction on the pyramid began in the 3rd century BCE or the 200s BCE. Over a really long period, the pyramid grew in four main stages to its current size and there were a bunch of other buildings and structures associated with it. Because of its location, Cholula was an important trade center for a lot of people throughout Mesoamerica (a term designating Mexico and parts of Central America before 1600 more or less). Ceramics and textiles were widely traded, among other things. It was also a pilgrimage center, where people traveled to honor important deities like Quetzalcoatl or the feathered serpent.

Church of Our Lady of the Remedies on top of Cholula’s Great Pyramid
(Photo: Lauren Kilroy-Ewbank, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

So why is there a tiny church on top of it now? When the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés passed through Cholula on his march to the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan (today Mexico City) in the 16th century, he stopped in Cholula. He was shocked to discover so many spaces that he and his companions deemed pagan or non-Christian. Spaniards and their Indigenous allies were also suspicious that the Choluteca were plotting against them. The Spaniards also massacred many people in the city and vowed to build a church atop each of the Indigenous structures that existed. This is why the Church of Our Lady of the Remedies was plopped on top of Tlachihualtepetl—placing Christian structures atop Indigenous pyramids sent an effective message about power and who was now in charge.

Pyramid of Cholula, 1855

This wood engraving gives us some indication of how overgrown the pyramid had become in the 19th century.

As the pyramid fell into disrepair, and as the Indigenous Choluteca people experienced hardship with colonization, the pyramid became overgrown. Eventually, most people forgot about it or at least exactly what the large mound was, seeing instead a church built atop a grassy mountain. But then, throughout the 19th century, European and US explorers and archaeologists began to document different things. Among them were German explorer and intellectual Alexander von Humboldt, who made some measurements, and the Swiss-American archaeologist Adolph Bandelier who began to find things around the pyramid. Bandelier documented more of the pyramid too. Bandelier had a lifelong interest in excavating Indigenous sites in the southwestern US, Mexico, and South America.

[Fun fact: Bandelier National Monument in New Mexico takes its name from Bandelier.]

Tunnel!

One of the tunnels dug into the pyramid in the 1930s.
(Photo: Lauren Kilroy-Ewbank, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0)

But it wasn’t until the early 20th century that the pyramid was more properly rediscovered and understood. Under the direction of the architect Ignacio Marquina, tunnels were dug into the pyramid in the early 1930s. You can still walk through some of them today (they were not originally part of the structure). If you are afraid of cramped spaces, I don’t recommend walking through them. On a hot day, they are wonderfully cool. Other excavations continued until the 1970s. It hasn’t been well-excavated since then, but that is because it has buildings on top of it and surrounding it, making it challenging.

Pedestal bowl, c. 1300–1500 CE, ceramic

This is one example of ceramics popular in Cholula in the 14th and 15th centuries. Today it is in The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Among the many incredible things discovered among the structures associated with the Great Pyramid are murals or paintings on walls. Tons of colorful ceramics found help us understand more about the Cholula society and even belief systems. Burials of hundreds of individuals have also been discovered around the larger Great Pyramid complex.

I could say so much more about this remarkable pyramid and the city of Cholula, and perhaps I will another day. For now, though, I hope I’ve inspired you to learn more about this remarkable place in Mexico. And perhaps to wonder if large overgrown mounds around the world could be ancient buildings hiding in plain sight!

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