With support from the University of Richmond

History News Network puts current events into historical perspective. Subscribe to our newsletter for new perspectives on the ways history continues to resonate in the present. Explore our archive of thousands of original op-eds and curated stories from around the web. Join us to learn more about the past, now.

Mexican pyramids under threat from Equinox revellers

Mexico's pyramids are at risk of being damaged by thousands of people who will gather at them for the Spring Equinox, the country's heritage protection body has warned.

Large numbers of tourists and Mexicans are expected to descend on historic sites such as Chichen-Itza and the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan this Sunday.

But the National Anthropology and History Institute (INAH), the government agency entrusted with protecting Mexico's rich cultural heritage, takes rather a different view.

The main Mexican celebration is at the Mayan site of Chichen-Itza, where during the equinox the sun's rays make a play of light and shadow on the steps of a pyramid temple which is said to resemble a serpent.

Another popular site is the Pyramid of the Sun in Teotihuacan, near Mexico City, construction of which began around 100 AD.

Nowadays, performers there dress in Aztec costumes and many other visitors wear white in the belief it helps them absorb energy....

Read entire article at Telegraph (UK)