Settlers Thought This Cliff Castle in a Cave in Arizona Was Built by Aztecs—But It's Actually Even OlderBuilt inside a cliffside alcove ninety feet off an Arizona valley floor, an ancient American “castle” remained a mystery to settlers in the area for decades until historians discovered the unique structure had a much older, richer history than originally thought.
When settlers and Mexican-American War veterans came to Verde Valley in the 1840s, they mistakenly assumed that the pre-Columbian fortress, nestled in the limestone embankment of Beaver Creek Canyon along what is now the I-17 between Phoenix and Flagstaff, was built by the Aztecs. They named it Montezuma Castle, after the 16th century Aztec Emperor Montezuma II.
Montezuma Castle in Verde Valley, Arizona, depicted in 1887. (Public Domain)
Today, Montezuma Castle, located in Verde Valley, Arizona, is a National Monument. (Paul R. Jones/Shutterstock)
The book “Conquest of Mexico,” published by Walter Hickling Prescott in 1843, substantiated this claim, according to Owlcation contributor and historian Chuck Nugent. Prescott supposes the Aztecs and their Toltec predecessors had built numerous such dwellings in the American Southwest before migrating to Mexico....
Source: Settlers Thought This Cliff Castle in a Cave in Arizona Was Built by Aztecs—But It's Actually Even Older (https://www.theepochtimes.com/settlers-thought-this-cliff-castle-in-a-cave-in-arizona-was-built-by-aztecs-but-its-actually-even-older_4113385.html)