Ancient Archaeological Marvels of the World

By Vandya Rai

October 02 2022

Great Pyramid of Giza

One of the world’s greatest mysteries; it is hard to explain how the ancient Egyptians built these perfectly aligned structures. The pyramid is made up of approximately 2.3 million blocks of limestone, granite, and mortar.

2570 BC

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The Parthenon, Greece

Considered a high point of Greek art, the construction of the Parthenon is extremely impressive. All of its stones were carried and laid in place by hand. Its tall, tapered columns are like an illusion that makes the temple look straighter than it is!

438 BC

Image Source: Alamy

Image Source: Alamy

Pont Du Gard, Rome

A stellar example of ancient engineering; Pont Du Gard is the tallest roman aqueduct, built to carry water into the Roman Colony from as far as 50 km away. What’s impressive is that the system worked on gravity alone!

40–60 AD

Al-Khazneh, Petra

Carved into rose-coloured stone, this is one of the most ornate structures in the world. The intricate sandstone work is reminiscent of Greek architecture. Legend says that the Egyptian Pharaoh created it to hide his treasures.

1st Century AD

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Leshan Giant Buddha, China

Built entirely by hand, this is the largest statue of the pre-modern world. Rising 71 metre high it is carved out of a cliff face of Cretaceous red bed sandstones. Legend says that the statue was built to calm the turbulent waters, which often destroyed ships. Surprisingly, it actually worked!

803 AD

Image Source: Alamy

Image Source: Alamy

Chand Baori, Rajasthan

Built by King Chanda to solve his kingdom’s drought problem. It’s dug into a V-shape, 100 feet below the earth’s surface, is 13 stories high, and has 3500 perfectly levelled steps. How this architectural feat was achieved during the time remains a mystery.

10th Century AD

Machu Picchu, Peru

The famous lost city of Inca, made entirely out of dry stone walls. It is built on two fault lines, and its stone foundations are known to dance during a seismic event and then fall right back into place. The engineering excellence on top is what keeps the town from collapsing.

1450 AD

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El Castillo, Mexico

A pyramid at the centre of Chichen Itza, the largest Mayan city. It is 24 metres high and has serpent heads on its four sides. During equinoxes, the shadow cast on the stairs looks like a serpent slithering down. Its 365 steps denote the days in a year and the echoes sound like a snake’s chirps.

8th–12th Century AD

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