CIPA 2003 XIX th International Symposium, 30 September - 04 October, 2003, Antalya, Turkey 
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Figure 4. Topographic, electric and radar images from 
Higuera street at Coyoacan, Mexico City 
6. CONCLUSIONS 
Across our city, where pre-Hispanic settlements were built with 
the accumulation of building materials, so to keep them above 
water level, it can be seen topographic mounds produced by 
differential sinking. The present work produced a record of pre 
compacted mounds that sink at a slower pace. It has been seen 
that these islets had kept their nahuatl names and even are still 
represented on the urban plan and the city toponyms. 
Investigations’ results thus far have located archaeological sites 
underneath the city’s pavement. The record of mounds on the 
surface points to place where there are remains of structures 
which once belonged to ancient lake settlements. This has been 
proven at Coyoacan and Churubusco where geophysical studies 
have pointed to the presence of remains, later excavated. 
To mitigate the formation of mounds it would be necessary to 
reduce drilling for water in the city’s subsoil, regardless of the 
consequences to its water supply for its inhabitants. These 
mounds are likely to continue growing, thus risking many 
monuments belonging to Mexico’s and Humanity’s heritage. 
Likewise, many houses and their dwellers are in danger if they 
are on top of archaeological remains affecting the buildings’ 
stability. 
The slow sinking process has allows nevertheless the correction 
and preservation of some structures such as the Metropolitan 
Cathedral, yet these conditions become very risky during seismic 
events that use to hit our country. The relationship found between 
archeological remains and the collapse of buildings during the 
1985 earthquake, at least suggests that this is a factor to be taken 
into consideration so to minimize its impact. 
Therefore, restoring and consolidating architectural structures 
in Mexico City must begin with the study of buried structures. If 
we do not understand prior settlements and the effect of their 
remains upon the performance of the soil and surface structures 
as well, many interventions would be at best a temporary placebo 
but would not be offering a long-term solution, far from it. 
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