Architectural Wonders of the Ancient World

1. No list of the greatest structures of the ancient world would be complete without a mention of the famous Pyramids in Egypt. The Pyramid of Djoser, the oldest of the Pyramids, is estimated to have been built around the year 2630 B.C. Still today, experts have not been able to come up with a solid conclusion to explain how the ancient Egyptians built these perfectly aligned buildings using nothing but physical strength. It is presumed that as many .....

THE ROMAN AQUEDUCTS ITALY

2. The aqueducts were constructed by the ancient Romans around 145 B.C. and were used to bring in water for the Roman Empire. The really fascinating part? The aqueducts work on gravity alone, meaning that the design is what allowed the water to be siphoned. This is one of the earliest examples of engineering and quite an impressive one at that, especially considering the lack of resources available at the time. The aqueducts still stand intact today .....

AL KHAZNEH PETRA JORDAN

3. Known as the Treasury at Petra and carved into rosecoloured stone, this rock fa?ade is one of the most ornate architectural wonders of the ancient world. Originally built as a crypt around the first century A.D., the sandstone carving is reminiscent of Greek architecture from that time period. What makes it so impressive, even today, is the intricate detail work that has, for the most part, remained intact. There are several legends surrounding t .....

CHAND BAORI INDIA

4. According to the legend in the village of Abhaneri in Rajasthan, India, where the Chand Baori stepwell lies, ghosts built it around the 10th century. As farfetched as that may seem, there dont seem to be any other explanations on the table as to how this perfectly designed stepwell came to be. Around 900 AD, King Chanda had it built to solve the areas drought problem. Roughly 13 stories high, dug into a Vshape nearly 100 feet below the earths sur .....

MEGALITHIC TEMPLES MALTA

5. The Megalithic Temples of Malta 11 to be exact are prehistoric monumentsbuilt between the years 3000 B.C. and 700 B.C. During this period, temple building was extremely important and each of these structures is an improvement upon the one preceding it. Some archaeologists believe the temples which have been described as theoldest freestanding buildings in the worldwere built to worship specific gods and many are still impressed by the intricacie .....

LESHAN GIANT BUDDHA CHINA

6. Around the year 713 A.D., construction began on the Leshan Giant Buddha in Sichuan, China. The construction of the monument, the largest statue of the premodern world, was halted for about 70 years due to funding issues. The project was resumed and completed by the year 803 A.D. At the time, the raging rivers which now calmly lay at the statues feetmade it difficult for ships to pass, hence why a Chinese monk sought to have the statue created. H .....

THE GREAT WALL OF CHINA

7. Construction on the Great Wall of China began as early as the 7th century B.C. and was continued by several different Chinese dynasties to protect the borders of the country from intrusion. It took hundreds of years to complete the Great Wall, which is over 21,000 kilometers long. Millions of prisoners were forced to work on the wall and it is believed that nearly one million lives were lost during its construction. Made of stone, brick and wood, .....

SACSAYWAMAN PERU

8. A stone fortress, Sacsaywaman is located in Cusco, Peru, once the capital of the Inca Empire. Considering that some of the stones used to make up this fortress weigh as much 200 tons, its mindboggling to think this structure was built even before the Inca Empire, around 900 A.D. to 1200 A.D. Even more impressive is the fact that stones were intricately cut to fit into one another very tightly, keeping the walls up for centuries without the use of .....

THE PARTHENON GREECE

9. One of the most popular attractions in Greece, the Parthenon was built around 438 B.C. Although it served as a temple at certain points in history, it was originally built as a fortress and was also converted into a Christian church at some point, too. The construction of this immense building, most commonly known as the Temple of Athena, is extremely impressive when you consider the fact that all the stones used to build it were carried and laid .....

BOROBUDUR INDONESIA

10. This 9th century Buddhist temple is the largest in the world. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, this remarkable landmark contains over 500 Buddha statues, and some very ornate and striking designs. Completed around the year 825 A.D., Borobudur is still a popular pilgrimage site. The immense temple was actually lost under volcanic ash, until it was rediscovered and excavated in the early 1800s. How it disappeared still remains a mystery. .....