Contrary to popular opinion, the Great Wall of China wasn’t built all at once. Construction on various walls to keep out Mongol invaders began as early as the 7th century BC. Over the ensuing centuries, more walls were built. The current standing wall was largely restored from earlier versions during the Ming Dynasty. The Lost Great…
Deep in the jungles of the Petén Basin lies Calakmul, one of the great lost cities of the Mayas. The Lost City of Calakmul? The lost city of Calakmul remained undiscovered by outsiders until 1931. Since that time, it’s become more accessible but just barely. It’s an archaeological paradise and contains the second-largest Maya structure…
Lost cities are a fascinating subject. But have we found them all? Or is there ancient megalithic architecture still out there, waiting to be discovered? Do Lost Cities Still Exist? A few weeks back, I was trekking through the Yucatán Peninsula, in search of ancient Maya lost cities. Much of the upper part of this…
Archaeologists have finally penetrated to the center of the Pyramid of the Sun’s maze of ancient tunnels. Amazingly, they’ve uncovered a cache of items that are almost 2,000 years old. What’s inside the Pyramid of the Sun? Here’s the latest on this archaeological excavation into the Pyramid of the Sun from History.com. One of Mexico’s largest…
A sphinx is a mythical creature with the body of a lion and the head of a human. According to the ancient Greeks, any traveler who wished to enter Thebes had to first solve “The Riddle of the Sphinx.” Those who failed to answer it correctly were strangled and eaten. What was the riddle? And…
England contains numerous strange monuments called causewayed enclosures. Until recently, scholars believed that these mammoth earthen structures were built over many generations. However, new evidence suggests that they were constructed over a much shorter period, which represented mankind’s first known property boom. The Mysterious Causewayed Enclosures? Causewayed enclosures are hilltops surrounded by ancient circular ditches. Some…
The Colossus of Rhodes was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. At over 100 feet tall, it stood far higher than any other statue of its time. Mysteriously, this behemoth disappeared over a thousand years ago and has been missing ever since. So, what happened to it? The Colossus of Rhodes? Rhodes…
The Great Pyramid at Giza is one of the most spectacular monuments of the ancient world. It measures over 450 feet tall and over 750 feet on each side. Many mysteries surround the giant structure but one in particular stands above the rest. How in the world did the ancient Egyptians manage to build it?…