The Zempoala (Cempoala) Archaeological Site is a quiet and fairly impressive site, with a lovely mountain backdrop. The monuments at the site have undergone extensive renovation works. Although this makes it easier to see what everything once was, it has erased any real sense of romance from the place. Most of the buildings are faced with smooth, rounded, riverbed stones, but many were originally plastered and painted. A typical feature is battlement-like ‘teeth’ called almenas .
There are four Spanish-speaking guides at the site who give explanations for free (tips recommended). Roberto del Moral Moreno is the only one who knows some English. He charges approximately M$100 per tour. The small site museum has some interesting clay figurines, polychrome plates and obsidian flints; it’s best to check it out first.
The Templo Mayor (Main Temple), uncovered in 1972, is an 11m-high pyramid with a wide staircase ascending to the remains of a shrine. When they first encountered Zempoala, Cortés and his men lodged in Las Chimeneas , whose hollow columns were thought to be chimneys – hence the name.
The circle of stones in the middle of the site is the Circulo de los Guerreros , where lone captured soldiers battled against groups of local warriors. Few won.
There are two main structures on the west side. One is known as the Templo del Sol and has two stairways climbing its front side in typical Toltec-Aztec style. The sun god was called Tonatiun and sacrifices were offered to him here on the Piedra de Sacrificios . The ‘fat chief,’ officially known as Xicomacatl, sat facing the macabre spectacle on the appropriately large altar .
To its north, the second structure is the Templo de la Luna , with a structure similar to Aztec temples to the wind god, Ehecatl.
East of Las Chimeneas is Las Caritas (Little Heads), named for niches that once held several small pottery heads.
Another large temple to the wind god, known as the Templo Dios del Aire , is in the town itself – go back south on the site entrance road, cross the main road in town and then go around the corner to the right. The ancient temple, with its characteristic circular shape, is beside an intersection.
