1 882.] A Pilgrimage to Teotihuacan. 935 



material with no recognizable structure, and now largely over- 

 grown with vegetation. 



The pyramids themselves are very regular in shape, but are 

 covered with loose fragments of volcanic rock varying in size from 

 six to eighteen inches. Amongst these rocks have grown up 

 numerous shrubs, flowers and cactuses. These give a very ragged 

 appearance to the structures. 



Near the " Path of the Dead " is the mouth of a cave of un- 

 known depth, which has ramifications to the right and left. There 



is a tradition that a subterranean passage exists between the pyra- 

 mids. If this is true the cave is probably connected with this pas- 

 sage. As our party had not prepared to explore any caves our in- 

 vestigations ceased when we had exhausted the stock of wax 

 matches we happened to have in our pockets. At the mouth of 

 this cave stands the huge monolith described by Almaraz 

 (Apuntes, pp. 354-5), which he says "was found among the 

 debris of a tlaltel " or mound. It is about five and a half feet 

 wide and thick, and according to the above author, ten and a half 

 feet high, and weighs over fifteen tons. At present, however, it 

 stands only six feet above ground, and is surrounded by the small 

 volcanic rocks which cover the surface in all directions. An at- 



