Just in time for Halloween, something creepy and at the same time enchanting has been discovered in Mexico. As reported in ABC News, the drought that has plagued some parts of Mexico has hit the watershed of the Grijalva River dropping the water level and revealing a colonial church in the middle of a reservoir.
A drought this year has dropped the water level of Nezahualcoyotl reservoir by 25 meters or 82 feet. The Nezahualcoyotl reservoir is located in southern Mexico. This drop of water level has revealed a 16th century church that was said to be flooded when the dam was constructed 40 years ago. The church is known as the Temple of Santiago and is now halfway revealed in the reservoir.
However, this is not the first time that the colonial church has resurfaced. Reports said that around 2002, the water level got so low that people were able to actually go inside and walk in the colonial church. The church is reported to be 61 meters long and 14 meters wide. Its walls are said to rise as high as 10 meters while the bell tower is high as 16 meters above the ground.
"The people celebrated. They came to eat, to hang out, to do business. I sold them fried fish," says a fisherman who is now offering Temple of Santiago boat tours according to Newser.
According to ABC News, Architect Navarete, who has studied and written extensively about the structure for Mexican officials, said that the colonial church was most probably built around the same time as a nearby monastery that dates back to 1564.
He added that the church was abandoned during the big plagues in 1773-1776. The church was said to be built by a group of monks and a famous figure in Spanish history, Friar Bartolome de las Casas. He was said to arrive in the Quechala locality in the mid-16th century. Bartolome de las Casas was said to be the first Bishop of Chiapas and has showed support in the colonisation and subjugation of the native Inidans of the regions. He later abolished slavery and helped persuade King Charles of Spain to grant the natives freedom.
The colonial church was later re-discovered in the 20th century. "At that time we still found the wood from the chorus loft and the roof beams," he said. "Also a large ossuary of the victims of the plague that depopulated the area."
