Russian doll structure inside the Maya pyramid

Experts have found the third 10 m high pyramid inside the Mayan Kukulkan pyramid, located in the state of Yucatán, Mexico.

Archaeologists have discovered the third structure of the Kukulkan pyramid in Chichen Itza, the Mayan archaeological site in Yucatán state, Mexico, and the Guardian on November 17 reported.

Kukulkan pyramid in Chichen Itza archaeological site, Yucatán state, Mexico.(Photo: GARossi / AP).

The smallest pyramid is 10 meters high, located inside two larger pyramids with a height of 20m and 30m respectively.

"It's like a Russian Matryoshka doll , each big one covered a smaller one inside , " commented René Chávez Seguro, geophysicist, project manager.

This discovery shows the pyramid of Kukulkan, also known as El Castillo , built in three different stages. According to engineers and anthropologists, the smallest pyramid was built around 550-800, while the remaining two structures were built in the five years between 800-1,000 and 1,050-1,300.

3D images depict the structure of the Kukulkan pyramid.(Photo: AP).

"Structured layers are stacked on top of each other for many reasons, possibly due to deterioration or the emergence of new leaders," Denisse Argote, an expert at the National Institute of Anthropology and Anthropology, explain.

According to him, finding the new pyramid would provide more information about the original Mayan culture, before it was affected by residents from central Mexico.