Most visitors who arrive at the Plaza of the Moon do so looking upward. The great pyramid rises directly ahead, commanding attention almost immediately. Yet something equally remarkable lies at ground level—something archaeology overlooked for decades. What appears at first to be an open transitional space proved instead to be one of the most symbolically charged places in all of Teotihuacan.

A space built for congregation

The Plaza of the Moon marks the northern end of the Avenue of the Dead and constitutes one of the most remarkable spaces in Teotihuacan. It is enclosed by 13 platforms—once entirely painted—and contains within it Structure A: an enclosed courtyard measuring 25 meters on each side, situated at the foot of the pyramid and framed by two platforms. Within this space, nine altars are arranged along the walls, with a tenth placed at the center—a configuration that evokes the cardinal directions, the intercardinal points, and the center of the universe: the quincunx, the Teotihuacan Cross, a map of the cosmos inscribed in stone.

The Plaza’s final configuration

What visitors see today is not the original plaza, but its final architectural configuration, constructed during the late phases of Teotihuacan, between 350 and 550 CE. Earlier versions of the space preceded it, and archaeology has only just begun to decipher them. The first systematic investigations of the plaza's subsoil were carried out in the 1960s by archaeologist Ponciano Salazar, as part of the Teotihuacan Project 1962–1964. Those campaigns, however, focused primarily on exposing and restoring the visible structures, without intervening beneath the plaza itself. It was not until 2015 that Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia undertook, for the first time, a comprehensive exploration of the ground beneath the plaza.

The discovery: a ritual landscape beneath the plaza

In 2015, researchers discovered that the bedrock underlying the plaza had been perforated more than 400 times over the course of five centuries. These small cavities were distributed across the full extent of the space, though with greater concentrations in certain areas. Many contained river stones brought from distant locations; others, larger in scale, held five smooth stelae of green stone.

Another significant discovery was the presence of two channels associated with the plaza's central altar. Extending from its northern and southern staircases toward those cardinal directions, each measured approximately 25 meters in length. Their function appears to have been symbolic rather than practical.

The goddess of flowing water

The accumulation of archaeological evidence points to the likelihood that the cult practiced at the Plaza of the Moon was closely associated with Chalchiuhtlicue—the goddess of flowing water. The largest sculptures found within this space depict precisely this deity, reinforcing the hypothesis that the plaza, the pyramid, and Structure A formed an integrated ceremonial complex dedicated to the worship of water and fertility. The green stone from which the stelae were carved—a material associated in Mesoamerican cultures with water and with the concept of the precious—belongs fully to that same symbolic universe.

Visiting today

The Plaza of the Moon is best experienced upon reaching the northern end of the Avenue of the Dead, before ascending the pyramid. From ground level, it is possible to appreciate the symmetry of the ensemble, the 13 platforms that enclose the space, and the sense of containment they produce for those who enter it. Structure A, situated at the foot of the pyramid, is one of the few constructions at the site whose plan—its quincunx form—can be clearly understood from the ground, without the need for elevation or an overhead vantage point. It is a place to pause before continuing the journey through the city.