A 16th Century Church Has Emerged From A Lake In Mexico

As the water levels in Southern Mexico continue to rise, all sorts of amazing, forgotten structures are being revealed.

Just wait until you see what this reservoir has decided to showcase! These are the remains of a church that was abandoned during the 16th century. The Temple of Santiago would typically be resting underneath 100 feet of water. Now that times have changed, we have the chance to see it.

The church has been underwater for some time now. According to the HuffPost, the completion of a dam back in 1966 guaranteed it. Once the dam was created, the Nezahualcoyotl reservoir in Chiapas, the church was finally submerged. The re-emergence of the church has been nice to see and we can always appreciate having the opportunity to check out forgotten pieces of architecture.

A group of monks are responsible for the church’s construction, as per the HuffPost. The project was led by Friar Bartolome de la Casas. He first arrived in this region, which was inhabited by the Zoque people, during the middle of the 16th century. Now, those who would like to check out the remains of the church for themselves have the option of being ferried out to the area. It’s a fun trip, we are sure.

“It was a church built thinking that this could be a great population center, but it never achieved that,” said architect Carlos Navarretes during a recent interview with the Associated Press. The church is said to have been abandoned after a plague decimated the region from 1773 to 1776. In most instances, the church would have stayed underwater forever.

Now that times are changing, our access to various structures from the past is changing as well. It’s the sort of thing that no one ever could have predicted but it will not be long before these types of occurrences are happening in America as well. For starters, those who live in Nevada are already going through similar revelations when it comes to the waters of Lake Mead.

It won’t be long before the rest of America is unearthing these types of structures in our own backyards.

Check out the video below to see the church for yourself!