History

• The earliest ruins at Cholula date to 100 B.C. The Great Pyramid now visible was built in four stages, the first one beginning around the 2nd century B.C., according to SacredDestinations.com. Power struggles in the area lead to the site being occupied by many different peoples, who rebuilt the pyramid, added to it and built on top of older sites. According to Blackwell Reference, the site of the pyramid was rebuilt at least four different times. When the Spaniards arrived in the 1500s, the pyramid was in ruins and unrecognizable. The Spanish built a cathedral atop the pyramid while failing to recognize what it truly was.
  
  

Cholula

• Cholula was Mexico's second-largest city with a population of 100,000 when Cortés came. The city is said to be one of the longest-inhabited cities of Mexico with a history of 2,500 years, according to OnTheRoadIn.com. Today, Cholula is a small city in the state of Puebla, known for its catholic churches like the one on top of the pyramid.
  
  

Significance

• The complex of Cholula carries a lot of interesting and important history. Every power that conquered Cholula added to the pyramid, according to AztecHistory.com. The oldest layers are protected beneath the layers of future generations and conquests. The earliest pyramids at Cholula are dedicated to Quetzalcoatl, the deity of the ancient South American peoples. Later additions do not reflect the same reverence for the god. The complex tells the story the of the region's people.
  
  

Features

• Today, like when the Spanish first came to Cholula, the pyramid resembles a grassy hillside with a cathedral posted on top, but a closer investigation reveals its true form. It is a radial pyramid with stairs covering all four sides so the summit may be approached from any direction. Archeologists have uncovered five miles of tunnels within the structure, which are now open for visitors to explore. The great pyramid and the Spanish colonial cathedral are all backed by the even more breathtaking site of Popocatepetl. Popo, as the local people call it, is an active, steaming volcano and the only other feature of the Cholulan landscape to rise above the pyramid.
  
  

Size

• The base of the great Pyramid at Cholula is 202,500 square meters, according to Sacred Destinations. The height of the structure is 66 meters. The metric volume measurement for the entire pyramid is estimated at about 4.45 million cubic meters. It is almost twice the volume of the Great Pyramid at Giza. The entire complex of Cholula covers 45 acres, according to Smithsonianmag.com.