ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITES

An archaeological site is a place (or group of physical sites) in which evidence of past activity is preserved (either prehistoric or historic or contemporary), and which has been, or may be, investigated using the discipline of archaeology and represents a part of the archaeological record. Sites may range from those with few or no remains visible above ground, to buildings and other structures still in use.

Abu SimbelEGYPT

The Abu Simbel temples are two massive rock temples which were originally carved out of the mountainside during the reign of Pharaoh Ramesses II in the 12th century BC, as a lasting monument to himself and his queen Nefertari, and to commemorate his victory at the Battle of Kadesh.

Altun HaBELIZE

Altun Ha is the name given to the ruins of an ancient Mayan city in Belize used as trading, ceremonial center and burial ceremonies.The largest of Altun Ha's temple-pyramids, the "Temple of the Masonry Altars”, is 54 feet (16 m) high.

Angkor WatCAMBODIA

Angkor Wat is a temple complex in Cambodia and the largest religious monument in the world, with the site measuring 162.6 hectares. The word Angkor is derived from the Sanskrit word “nagara” which means city and “wat” means “temple”

CarthageTUNISIA

Carthage,( from Latin word “Carthago” meaning "New City“ )was the centre or capital city of the ancient Carthaginian civilization, dating back from 814 B.C.E.

Chaco RuinsUNITED

STATES of AMERICA

Chaco Canyon was a major center of culture for the Ancient Pueblo People from the quarried sandstone blocks and hauled timber assembling fifteen major complexes that remained the largest buildings in North America until the 19th century.

Chan ChanPERU

Located in a desert region between the Pacific Ocean and the Andres Mountains, this city covers nine square miles (23.3 square kilometers). At its zenith, Chan Chan boasted nine royal compounds and a population of 50,000 people.

CopanHONDURAS

Copán was occupied for more than two thousand years, from the Early Preclassic period to the Postclassic. The city developed a distinctive sculptural style within the tradition of the lowland Maya, perhaps to emphasize the Maya ethnicity of the city's rulers.

DelphiGREECE

Delphi is famous as the ancient sanctuary that grew rich as the seat of the Oracle (Pythia) that was consulted on important decisions throughout the ancient classical world. Moreover, it was considered as the navel (or centre) of the world by the Greeks as represented by the Omphalos.

EphesusTURKEY

The temple was famed for the Temple of Artemis which was completed around 550 BC. Ephesus was one of the seven churches of Asia that are cited in the Book of Revelation.

Giant’s CausewayUNITED KINGDOM

The Giant's Causeway is an area of about 40,000 interlocking basalt columns, the result of an ancient volcanic eruption ranging from 50 feet in height.

Great ZimbabweZIMBABWE

Great Zimbabwe is a ruined city in the south-eastern hills of Zimbabwe. One of the edifice's most prominent features were its walls, some of which were over five metres high, and within the enclosure is a mysterious conical tower, 30 feet high, with no doors, windows or stairs.

KnossosGREECE

Knossos or Cnossos is the largest Bronze Age archaeological site in Crete and is considered as Europe’s oldest city. Located here is the 1599-room palace of King Minos. Dating from 1600 B.C.E. This was also the reputed site of the Labyrinth and the Minotaur who roamed within.

Leptis MagnaLIBYA

Great Leptis, or simply Leptis, known as Lebda to modern-day residents of Libya, appears to have been founded by a group of local Berbers and Phoenicians sometime around 1000 BC, with 80,000 people and was later under control of the Numidians, followed by the Romans.

Mesa VerdeUNITED STATES

of AMERICA

Mesa Verde or “Green Table” in Spanish occupies 52, 485 acres with 600 cliff dwellings and more than 4,300 sites by which 1300 were abandoned.

Ming TombsPEOPLE’S

REUPLIC of CHINA

Ming Tombs contains the tombs of 13 Ming Emperors, in lines with statues of guardian animals and officials, with a front gate consisting three arches called, “Great Red Gate”.

MoenjodaroPAKISTAN

Mohenjo-daro, the modern name for the site, has been variously interpreted as "Mound of the Dead Men" in Sindhi, and as "Mound of Mohan“, was the world’s first planned city.

MycenaeGREECE

Dating from 1500 to 1200 B.C.E., Mycenae or Mykene (earlier name) is one of Greece’s oldest cities. Structures of note include the Treasury of Athens, Royal Burials, Ampitheatre and the Lion Gate.

Nazca LinesPERU

This site is estimated to date from 900 B.C.E to 630 C.E. and covers the Nazca Plateau with hundreds of dead straight lines, geometric shapes, more than 70 zoomorphic design of animals and other phytomorphic shapes such as flowers and trees.

PalenqueMEXICO

Palenque also anciently known as Lakamha which means “Big Water” contains some of the finest architecture, sculpture, roof comb and bas-relief carvings that the Mayas produced.

PompeiiITALY

Pompeii was an ancient Roman town-city near modern Naples. Pompeii, along with Herculaneum and many villas in the surrounding area, was mostly destroyed and buried under 4 to 6 m (13 to 20 ft) of volcanic ash and pumice in the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 C.E.

Roman ForumITALY

The Roman Forum is a rectangular forum (plaza) surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the centre of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient city referred to this space, originally a marketplace, as the Forum Magnum, or simply the Forum.

SphinxEGYPT

The Great Sphinx of Giza is a limestone statue of a reclining sphinx, with the face of Pharaoh Chephren body of a lion and paws, measuring up to 50 feet long with the total length of 150 feet standing on the Giza Plateau.

Temple of KarnakEGYPT

The Karnak Temple Complex comprises a vast mix of decayed temples, chapels, pylons, and other buildings, dating from about 1,500 B.C.E.

Temple of LuxorEGYPT

The name Luxor comes from the Arabic word “al-uqsur” which means “the palaces”. Begun in 1400 B.C.E. dedicated to the god Amun. Within the complex are courtyards, massive statues, colonnades, and hypostyles.

TeotihuacanMEXICO

The name Teōtīhuacān was given by the Nahuatl-speaking Aztecs and glossed as the “birthplace of the gods”. Teotihuacan was the largest city in the pre-Columbian Americas, with a population estimated at 125,000 or more, making it at least the sixth largest city in the world during its epoch.

TikalGUATEMALA

Tikal may be derived from a Yucatec Maya word “ti ak’al” meaning “at the waterhole”. Mayan city covering 50 square miles with a population of 45, 000 at its height; Tikal was the capital of a conquest state that became one of the most powerful kingdoms of the ancient Maya.

TulumMEXICO

Tulum formerly have been known by the name “Zama”, meaning “City of Dawn”, because it faces the sunrise. Tulum is an enclosed Mayan fortress-city on the coast of Mexico from about 600 C.E. and one of the last cities built and inhabited by the Maya.

UrIRAN

This Sumerian ziggurat was built of solid brick measuring 210 by 140 feet and is 54 feet high. The site is marked by the partially restored ruins of the Ziggurat of Ur, which contained the shrine of Nanna, excavated in the 1930s.

UxmalMEXICO

Uxmal is an ancient Maya city of the classical period in present-day Mexico. It is considered one of the most important archaeological sites of Maya culture. Its buildings are noted for their size and decoration.

Valley of the KingsEGYPT

Valley of the Kings also known as, Valley of the Gate of the Kings” where, for a period of nearly 500 years from the 16th to 11th century BC, tombs were constructed for the Pharaohs and powerful nobles of the New Kingdom (the Eighteenth to the Twentieth Dynasties of Ancient Egypt).

Xi’an TombPEOPLE’S

REPUBLIC of CHINA

Xi’an Tomb or famously known as “Teracotta Army” which literally means "Soldier-and-horse funerary statues" is a collection of 8, 000 terracotta sculptures depicting the armies of Qin Shi Huang, the first Emperor of China. It is a form of funerary art buried with the emperor in 200 B.C.E. and whose purpose was to protect the emperor in his afterlife.

XunantunichBELIZE

Xunantunich’s name means "Stone Woman" in the Maya language, and, like many names given to Maya archaeological sites, is a modern name; the ancient name is currently unknown. This city flourished between 300 and 900 C.E.