An Abandoned Church Built In The 1500s Has Suddenly Emerged From A Mexican Reservoir

October 19, 2015

The water levels in Southern Mexico have fallen so much that the remains of an abandoned, 16th-century church are now visible.

Credit: Associated Press

The Temple of Santiago normally rests under 100 feet of water since the completion of a dam in 1966 created the Nezahualcoyotl reservoir in Chiapas.

Credit: Associated Press

Due to the recent drought, the church has emerged.

Credit: Associated Press

The church was built by a group of monks headed by Friar Bartolome de la Casas, who arrived in the region inhabited by the Zoque people in the mid-16th century.

Exploring Chiapas/Instagram

Local fishermen been ferrying curious passengers out to see the church's remains.

Exploring Chiapas/Instagram

Exploring Chiapas/Instagram

"It was a church built thinking that this could be a great population center, but it never achieved that," architect Carlos Navarretes told AP.

After a plague devastated the area from 1773 to 1776, the church was abandoned.

Credit: Associated Press

(h/t) Huffington Post.