Amazing Ancient Ruins of the World

17/01/2023

Colosseum

One of the most iconic Roman ruins, the Colosseum was an ancient gladiator arena. Unveiled in 80 AD, the 50,000-seater amphitheater was used for staging various events. These included animal fights and blood-thirsty gladiator contests where contestants would fight to the death.

The architecture of the Colosseum is impressive even by today’s standards. The outer walls are made up of three levels of archways topped with Ionic, Doric and Corinthian columns. In its hey-day, they were decorated with travertine and marble statues.

The top level once supported an enormous awning that sheltered spectators from the elements. Today, you can explore the Colosseum itself or combine it with a visit to the nearby Roman Forum and Palatine Hill.

17/01/2023

Moai Statues

With the tallest weighing in over 80 tonnes, the Moai Statues on Easter Island in Polynesia are iconic. In fact, you’ll probably recognize them from a picture even if you hadn’t heard of them.

These 800-plus statues, most of which face away from the sea, were carved from volcanic ash by the Rapa Nui people somewhere between 400 and 1500 AD. Likely created using rudimentary basalt stone picks, each of these enormous monolithic statues would have taken close to a year to complete.

There are many theories as to why they were built, including as a way to honor important clan ancestors and because of a believe it would improve the soil.

17/01/2023

Канада

15/01/2023

Sigiriya

Sigiriya is an ancient fortress carved into a 200-meter vertical rock face near the town of Dambulla in Sri Lanka. On top of what is now known as Lion Rock are the fascinating remains of an ancient civilization, thought to be the capital of the kingdom of Kassapa.

In its heyday, it included a citadel, an upper palace, a mirror wall with stunning colorful frescoes, and a gateway in the shape of a lion. After the king passed, the capital was abandoned and it was used as a Buddhist monastery until the 14th-century.

While the climb to the top of Sigiriya is certainly not for the faint-hearted, the views of the water features, ramparts, terraced gardens and cave shrines will be worth the effort.

13/01/2023

Mesa Verde

Deep in the American Southwest, you’ll find Mesa Verde National Park with its fascinating collection of 600 ancient clifftop dwellings. The most famous of these dwellings is the Cliff Palace, built into an enormous sandstone alcove that’s protected it from the elements for over seven centuries.

It’s the largest of its kind in North America and unlike the rest of the dwellings that contained just a few rooms for residential purposes, the palace had over 150 rooms and 23 sacred kivas. Having been lived in for close to a century, these unusual cliff-side villages were suddenly abandoned in the 13th-century. Nobody really knows why.

Today, around 4,800 archaeological sites dating back to 550 AD can be found in Mesa Verde, some of which are open to the public.

13/01/2023

11/01/2023

Stonehenge

Dotted along the Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England, Stonehenge is easily one of the most recognized ancient ruins in the world. Dating back over 5,000 years, these curious stone rings are some of the oldest stone structures on the planet. Created out of sandstone, they are ensconced in mystery.

Who built them and why is still largely unknown. Two popular theories maintain that Stonehenge was used as a site for religious rituals or otherwise to monitor the movements of the sun and moon. As you only need two hours to explore the ruins of Stonehenge and its adjacent museum, a day trip from London is often combined with a visit to Windsor or Bath