Re: Moctezuma's Tomb
Just back from three weeks in the States.
I just realized I forgot to post the rest of my 'research'.
Before we went North, a cousin offered to take us to an ancient indigenous fort, which is a registered ruin, and is on the tourist list, though not many come here. They do have a day-time guard, and it is alleged he makes good money. It is about an hour drive from the Tomb, but it is a common recreational trip for folks here. This was my fourth visit, I think.
I really wanted to see the mortar in the walls in the old fort, and there are many walls. This fort was known to be in use in 1503, when it was finally conquered by the Aztecs, and from then they paid tribute every year, to Moctezuma. (Legend again, with some supporting academic evidence.)
The mortar was definitely soft, and may have been the tepetate mentioned earlier. But, the mortar in the Tomb was not soft, but as hard as concrete, more or less.
However, the plot thickens. As we walked around the fort site, I spotted a strange piece of something, not a rock at all, looked more like a piece of concrete, but had layers around half an inch thick, total thickness maybe 2 or 3 inches. Overall, it was around a meter across, irregular shaped, and was propped up against some stones. I asked what on earth that was.
Cousin said it was sort of ancient concrete thingie, made of large grains of sand, here they would call them little rocks, such as are usually found around the ant hills here. There were some within a few yards. He said the ancients mixed this large sand with sap of Nopal cactus and milk to make a solid material, like what we would call concrete. I asked lots of questions, and his comments were all based on something he read as a boy.
On the way out, they went searching outside the fort reserve area for herbs they wanted, while I goofed off under a tree. When he came back he had a piece of the material, approximately hand size, he found it in the field. It had only two visible layers, otherwise felt like a rock. It is obviously man made, due to the distinct layers, just like the big piece we saw.
It was okay to take, because it was not in the reserve, that could have got us jail time.
After my own research online, and lots of thinking and studying that piece. I came to a theory. Are you surprised?
I found a page which said adding nopal sap to concrete increased strength (oops, or was it hardness??) by up to 56%. But, no where can I find any source which says nopal sap alone can make concrete.
My theory is, the 'concrete' is made with cal (the quicklime they had at the time) with nopal added for strength.
And, frankly, the mortar on the Tomb feels more like that 'concrete' than the soft mortar used in the fort, which you can dig out with your fingers.
I expect it takes more work to produce a mortar with the ant sand particles than with soft rock powder.
So, why did they use the more 'expensive' mortar on what I theorized was nothing but an observation tower, and on the fort buildings, use soft rock powder? The plot thickens, does it not?
As always, when I visit the Tomb, I go away and later come up with another question.
There is a place on that wall of the Tomb where it is broken, and some rocks have fallen. I need to examine that closely and see if I can obtain any more information on the mortar. Does it have ant-sand, or something else?
Pictures if I still have them after this delay.
By the way, y'all seem to enjoy my tales, at least some of you. If they become objectionable for any board regulations reason, let me know. I also enjoy reporting the interesting things I find, but do not want to offend anyone. I especially enjoy the quality reproduction of the pictures I post.
