12 stunning structures from antiquity

1. Chand Baori

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

Chand Baori was builtStudy of Ancient Stepwells in India, A mathematical marvel called Chand Baori 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.

The access to the well is now closedIndia. Day 3. Abaneri and Chand Baori, India - stepwells from the dream, Chand Baori well in Indiabecause people fell there regularly - mostly local children. And the muddy water at the bottom of the tank is a hotbed 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. BuiltOld Town of Segovia and its Aqueduct about 50 AD. The aqueduct stretches for more than 15 kilometers; at the highest point, the structure reaches 28 m.

Spaniards in ancient times came up with a legendLa leyenda que cuenta que el Acueducto de Segovia fue obra del diablo about the aqueduct: supposedly it was built by the devil, whom a young girl, 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 builtOld Town of Segovia and its Aqueduct of 24,000 granite blocks connected together without mortar.

3. Pont du Gard

Another aqueduct, and more of the one in Segovia. Pont du Gard in French means “Bridge through Gar ", because it is thrownPont du Gard (Roman Aqueduct) across 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 cutPont du Gard (Roman Aqueduct), Pont du gard 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 PhoeniciansBaalbek, Baalbeck - ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE, LEBANON, then he was captured by Alexander the Great. Modern arabs the city is called Baalbek - perhaps from the word "Vaal" (translated as "master", "lord").

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

Interestingly, the temple of Jupiter is supported by three plates weighing 800 tons - Trilithon of Baalbek. They are locatedA propos du trilithon de Baalbek. Le transport et la mise en oeuvre des mégalithes 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, builtA shorter history of Greek art at the top of the Athenian Acropolis (a fortified hill in the center cities, which served as a citadel). There was once a gold and ivory statue of Athena in the center of the Parthenon, 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 paintedWhen the Parthenon had dazzling colors their temples. The arches of the Parthenon tenia were red, the ceiling of the colonnade was blue, red and gold, and the lower surface of the cornice was red and blue.

6. Theater of Marcellus

Theater of Marcellus builtTheater of Marcellus 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 like Coliseum, but Pompey and Balba, as well as Marcellus, were horseshoe-shaped.

This theater could fitTheater of Marcellus, Rome, ancient 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 - in its place 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 designCity of Cuzco, because the fortress was almost dismantled for building materials by the conquistadors who conquered it.

The largest stones used in the construction of Saksayvaman weigh more than 200 tons. It must have been difficult to bring them here, given that the citadel is locatedAncient Cuzco: Heartland of the Inca at a height of 3 701 m above the level seas 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, even without knowing the wheel.

8. Borobudur

It is the largest Buddhist temple in the world, builtBorobudur Temple Compounds in Central Java in Indonesia. Its name comes from the Sanskrit "vihara Buddha ur", which means "Buddha temple 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 have calculated that the constructionBuddhist Architecture Borobudur took 55,000 cubic meters of andesite rocks. 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 elephant heads.

9. Angkor Wat

Angkor-Wat translated from the Khmer language means "capital temple". This sanctuary is builtAngkor wat 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 risesAngkor Wat: History of Ancient Temple 65 m above the surrounding landscape.

10. Ruvanvelisaya

The grandiose stupa built by King Dutugemunu around 161 BC in Sri Lanka. The construction area exceedsRuwanweli maha seya an ordinary football field, the diameter of the dome reaches 90 m, and the height is 92 m. The stupa is located on a foundation of golden gravel, and 400 elephants are engraved on the wall surrounding it, "supporting" Ruvanvelisayu.

This monument attracts Buddhist pilgrims from all over the world. Is considered10 tallest man ‑ made architectural triumphs from our ancient worldthat 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. the 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 encloseGreat wall of china the whole of China is a wall. It didn't work out very well, because no army would be enough to defend such a fence along its entire length from the Mongols - 21,196 kilometers, after all.

Thickness Great wall - about 5–8 m, height - up to 10 m. Construction tookMedieval long-wall construction on the Mongolian Steppe during the eleventh to thirteenth centuries AD 10 years and required tremendous work. Subsequently, the wall was repeatedly expanded and acquired additional fragments. The plots that have survived to this day were mainly built during the Ming dynasty.

There is also a tale 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, Guatemala

La Danta is a huge pyramid built Mayan in the territory of El Mirador. The temple, erected on the top of the hill, is an ensemble of terraces and pyramids, toweringNUEVAS PERSPECTIVAS EN LOS MODELOS DE ASENTAMIENTO MAYA DURANTE EL PRECLÁSICO EN LAS TIERRAS BAJAS: LOS SITIOS DE NAKBE Y EL MIRADOR, PETÉN over the jungle at 72 m. The construction took almost two million cubic meters of stone.

The temple is accompanied by smaller structures, which served as acropolis, reservoirs, warehouses with supplies. It was once surrounded by a whole city and a rampart. Maya shoveled to fill itEl Mirador, the Lost City of the Maya also 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.