Exclusive: Aztec war sacrifices found in Mexico may point to elusive royal tomb

Antonio Marin, an archaeologist with the National Institute of Anthropology and History (INAH), works at a site where a 500-year-old partially-excavated stone box contains an Aztec offering including bars of copal used by Aztec priests for incense in ritual ceremonies, in Mexico City, Mexico March 14, 2019. REUTERS/Henry Romero

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - A trove of Aztec sacrifices including a richly adorned jaguar dressed as a warrior and recently discovered in downtown Mexico City could lead archaeologists to the most tantalizing find yet: an Aztec emperor's tomb.

Discovered off the steps of the Aztec's holiest temple during the reign of the empire's most powerful ruler, the sacrificial offerings also include a young boy, dressed to resemble the Aztec war god and solar deity, and a set of flint knives elaborately decorated with mother of pearl and precious stones.