12 stunning structures from antiquity

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

I just can't believe that all this was created by human hands.

1. Chand Baori

What do you think is shown in the picture? A majestic temple? Arena for gladiatorial battles? No, this is … a well located near a temple in the town of Abaneri in India.

Chand Baori was built by the Study of Ancient Stepwells in India, between the 9th and 11th centuries. Its depth is more than 30 m and it is one of the deepest step wells in India. There are 3,500 steps and 13 tiers in it.

Now access to the well is closed,, because people regularly fell there - mostly local children. And the muddy water at the bottom of the tank is a breeding ground for parasites and various diseases.

2. Aqueduct in Segovia

The ancient Roman aqueduct - the longest surviving in Western Europe - is located near the Spanish city of Segovia. Built around 50 AD. The aqueduct stretches for more than 15 kilometers; at the highest point, the structure reaches 28 m.

The Spaniards in ancient times invented a legend about the aqueduct: supposedly it was built by the devil, whom a young girl who was tired of dragging water from the mountain in a jug asked about in exchange for her soul. He built a plumbing, but did not have time to put the last stone into it, as the cock crowed, and the lord of hell was forced to return to the underworld. So the girl's soul remained with her, and a statue of Our Lady of Nuestra Senora de la Cabeza was installed in the hole in place of the missing stone.

Indeed, it is hard to imagine that the huge aqueduct is the fruit of the labor of the Romans, and not the result of the witchcraft of evil spirits. It is built of 24,000 granite blocks, interconnected without mortar.

3. Pont du Gard

Another aqueduct, and more of the one in Segovia. Pont du Gard is French for "Bridge over the Gard" because it spans the Gardon River. This whopper is part of a 50-kilometer aqueduct that led from the city of Uzes to the Roman province of Nîmes.

The aqueduct was built from 50,400 tons of limestone without using mortar. The architects cut the blocks so that they fit snugly together. On the edges of the bridge, there are marks and numbers showing where the scaffolding was fixed. In addition, the bricklayers apparently even left instructions for the builders, carved directly on the blocks.

4. Heliopolis

Ancient Greek city of the Sun located in Lebanon. It was founded by the Phoenicians, then it was captured by Alexander the Great. Modern Arabs call the city Baalbek - possibly from the word "Vaal" (translated as "master", "lord").

In Heliopolis, the remains of a huge architectural ensemble, consisting of columns decorated with carvings, temples of Jupiter, Venus and Mercury, and a huge building with an altar are preserved.

It is interesting that the temple of Jupiter is supported by three plates weighing 800 tons - Trilithon of Baalbek. They are located at a height of 7 m, and they were lifted there using simple levers and pins. This is what dedication to the gods pushes people to accomplish.

5. Parthenon

Temple of the goddess Athena, built on top of the Athenian Acropolis (a fortified hill in the center of the city that served as a citadel). Once in the center of the Parthenon there was a statue of Athena made of gold and ivory, but it has not survived.

We used to think of ancient Greek sculptures, columns and other structures as marble-white, but in fact the Greeks painted their temples. The arches-tenia of the Parthenon were red, the ceilings of the colonnade were blue, red and gold, and the lower surface of the cornice was red and blue.

6. Theater of Marcellus

The Theater of Marcellus was built on the Champ de Mars in Rome, next to the Tiber River, by order of the same Caesar. It was completed, however, only under Octavian Augustus. We used to think that all Roman theaters are round and similar to the Colosseum, but Pompey and Balba, as well as Marcellus, had a horseshoe shape.

This theater could hold 20,000 spectators, and its arches, stairs, ramps, Doric columns and three tiers of seats were made of yellowish travertine. The upper tier has not survived - instead of it, the wealthy Italian Savelli family added residential floors in the 16th century, turning the theater into their palace.

7. Saksaivaman

Saksaivaman is a three-row walled Inca citadel located in the city of Cuzco in northern Peru. Its name can be interpreted as "Spotted Hawk", "Royal Eagle", "Well-Fed Hawk" or "Marble Head". What you see is only a small part of the structure, because the fortress was almost dismantled for building materials by the conquistadors who conquered it.

The largest stones used in the construction of Saksaivaman weigh more than 200 tons. It must have been difficult to bring them here, given that the citadel is located at an altitude of 3,701 meters above sea level and covers an area of thousands of hectares. The construction methods of the Incas remain a mystery to this day. One thing is for sure: they managed to build such a whopper without even knowing the wheel.

8. Borobudur

It is the largest Buddhist temple in the world, built in Central Java, Indonesia. Its name comes from the Sanskrit "vihara Buddha ur", which means "the temple of the Buddha on the mountain." Borobudur consists of three tiers and covers an area of 1,900 square meters. The temple also houses 504 Buddha statues and 72 stupas - monolithic stone structures that are religious monuments and reliquaries.

Archaeologists estimate that 55,000 cubic meters of andesite rocks were used to build Borobudur. The temple is decorated with relief stone paintings depicting stories from the life of the Buddha, and 100 gutters, made in the form of fish with the heads of elephants.

9. Angkor Wat

Angkor-Wat translated from the Khmer language means "capital temple". This sanctuary was built in honor of the god Vishnu, it is located in the north of Cambodia. The temple looks like a truncated pyramid with three tiers, and five towers rise above its walls.

The road from the entrance to the building to its center is decorated with statues of naga snakes, as if guarding it. The entire temple complex is covered with bas-reliefs and ornaments illustrating various subjects from Hindu mythology. The central tower-sanctuary rises 65 m above the surrounding landscape.

10. Ruvanvelisaya

A grandiose stupa built by King Dutugemunu around 161 BC in Sri Lanka. The area of the building is larger than an ordinary football field, the diameter of the dome reaches 90 m, and the height is 92 m. The stupa is placed on a foundation of golden gravel, and 400 elephants are engraved on the wall surrounding it, "supporting" Ruvanvelisaya.

This monument attracts Buddhist pilgrims from all over the world. It is believed that the dome of the stupa symbolizes the immensity of truth, the four walls below it are the Four Noble Truths, and the spire at the top is enlightenment.

11. Great Wall of China

Qin Shi Huang Ti, the Chinese emperor, did not want the Mongol invaders to invade the Celestial Empire, therefore, without further ado, he decided to enclose all of China with a wall. It didn't work out very well, because no troops would be enough to defend such a fence along its entire length from the Mongols - 21,196 kilometers, after all.

The thickness of the Great Wall is about 5–8 m, its height is up to 10 m. Its construction took 10 years and required colossal labor. Subsequently, the wall was repeatedly expanded and acquired additional fragments. The sites that have survived to this day were mainly built during the Ming dynasty.

There is also a story that the wall was erected by some neighboring peoples to protect themselves from the Chinese. This is allegedly proved by the loopholes located on the wrong side. But in fact, they are on both sides.

12. Temple of La Danta

La Danta is a huge pyramid built by the Mayans in the territory of El Mirador. The temple, erected on the top of the hill, is an ensemble of terraces and pyramids, towering 72 m above the jungle. The construction took almost two million cubic meters of stone.

The temple is accompanied by smaller structures that served as acropolis, reservoirs, warehouses with supplies. It was once surrounded by a whole city and a rampart. To fill it, the Maya shoveled another 100 thousand cubic meters of soil.

Naturally, they did not use excavators, so the diligence of the ancient builders, who created such colossus with only wooden shovels and spades, is admirable.