Ancient Wonders

A look at some of the most amazing monuments and structures made by ancient humans.

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Newgrange

Newgrange ( Irish Sí an Bhrú  [1]  ) is a  prehistoric   monument  in  County Meath  in Ireland, located on a rise overlooking the  River Boyne , 8 kilometres (5.0 mi) west of  Drogheda .  [2]   It is an exceptionally grand  passage tomb  built during the  Neolithic Period , around  3200 BC , making it older than  Stonehenge  and the  Egyptian pyramids . It is aligned on the  winter solstice  sunrise. Newgrange is the main monument in the  Brú na Bóinne  complex, a  World Heritage Site  that also includes the passage tombs of  Knowth  and  Dowth , as well as other  henges , burial mounds and standing stones.  [3]  

Newgrange consists of a large circular mound with an inner stone passageway and  cruciform  chamber. Burnt and unburnt human bones, and possible  grave goods  or  votive offerings , were found in this chamber. The mound has a retaining wall at the front, made mostly of white quartz cobblestones, and it is ringed by engraved kerbstones. Many of the larger stones of Newgrange are covered in  megalithic art . The mound is also ringed by a  stone circle . Some of the material that makes up the monument came from as far as the  Mournes  and  Wicklow Mountains . There is no agreement about its purpose, but it is believed it had religious significance. It is aligned so that the rising sun on the  winter solstice  shines through a ' roofbox ' above the entrance and floods the inner chamber. Several other passage tombs in Ireland are aligned with solstices and equinoxes, and Cairn G at  Carrowkeel  has a similar 'roofbox'.  [4]    [5]   Newgrange shares similarities with some other Neolithic monuments in Western Europe; especially  Gavrinis  in Brittany, which has a similar preserved facing and large carved stones,  [6]    Maeshowe  in Orkney, with its large  corbelled  chamber,  [7]   and  Bryn Celli Ddu  in Wales.

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Its initial period of use lasted about 1,000 years. Newgrange then gradually became a ruin, although the area continued to be a site of ritual activity. It featured in  Irish mythology  and  folklore , in which it is said to be a dwelling of  the deities , particularly  The Dagda  and his son  Aengus  Antiquarians  first began its study in the seventeenth century, and  archaeological  excavations began in the twentieth century. Archaeologist  Michael J. O'Kelly  led the most extensive of these from 1962 to 1975 and also reconstructed the front of the monument, a reconstruction that is controversial and disputed.  [8]   This included an inward-curving dark stone wall to ease visitor access. Newgrange is a popular tourist site and, according to archaeologist  Colin Renfrew , is "unhesitatingly regarded by the prehistorian as the great national monument of Ireland" and as one of the most important megalithic structures in Europe.

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Stonehenge

Stonehenge is a  prehistoric   monument  on  Salisbury Plain  in  Wiltshire , England, two miles (3 km) west of  Amesbury . It consists of an outer ring of vertical  sarsen   standing stones , each around 13 feet (4.0 m) high, seven feet (2.1 m) wide, and weighing around 25 tons, topped by connecting horizontal  lintel  stones. Inside is a ring of smaller  bluestones . Inside these are free-standing  trilithons , two bulkier vertical sarsens joined by one lintel. The whole monument, now ruinous, is aligned towards the sunrise on the  summer solstice . The stones are set within  earthworks  in the middle of the densest complex of  Neolithic  and  Bronze Age  monuments in England, including several hundred  tumuli  (burial mounds).  [2]  

Archaeologists believe that Stonehenge was constructed from around 3000 BC to 2000 BC. The surrounding circular earth bank and ditch, which constitute the earliest phase of the monument, have been dated to about 3100 BC.  Radiocarbon dating  suggests that the first  bluestones  were raised between 2400 and 2200 BC,  [3]   although they may have been at the site as early as 3000 BC.  [4]    [5]    [6]  

One of the most famous landmarks in the United Kingdom, Stonehenge is regarded as a British cultural icon.  [7]   It has been a legally protected  scheduled monument  since 1882,  [1]   when legislation to protect historic monuments was first successfully introduced in Britain. The  site and its surroundings  were added to  UNESCO 's list of  World Heritage Sites  in 1986. Stonehenge is owned by  the Crown  and managed by  English Heritage ; the  surrounding land  is owned by the  National Trust .  [8]    [9]  

Stonehenge could have been a burial ground from its earliest beginnings.  [10]   Deposits containing human bone date from as early as 3000 BC, when the ditch and bank were first dug, and continued for at least another 500 years.

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The  Oxford English Dictionary  cites  Ælfric 's tenth-century glossary, in which henge-cliff is given the meaning "precipice", or stone; thus, the stanenges or Stanheng "not far from  Salisbury " recorded by eleventh-century writers are "stones supported in the air". In 1740,  William Stukeley  notes: "Pendulous rocks are now called henges in Yorkshire ... I doubt not, Stonehenge in Saxon signifies the hanging stones."  [12]    Christopher Chippindale 's Stonehenge Complete gives the derivation of the name Stonehenge as coming from the  Old English  words stān meaning "stone", and either hencg meaning " hinge " (because the stone  lintels  hinge on the upright stones) or hen(c)en meaning " to hang " or " gallows " or "instrument of torture" (though elsewhere in his book, Chippindale cites the "suspended stones" etymology).  [13]  

The "henge" portion has given its name to a class of monuments known as  henges .  [12]   Archaeologists define henges as earthworks consisting of a circular banked enclosure with an internal ditch.  [14]   As often happens in archaeological terminology, this is a holdover from  antiquarian  use.

Despite being contemporary with true  Neolithic  henges and  stone circles , Stonehenge is in many ways atypical – for example, at more than 24 feet (7.3 m) tall, its extant trilithons' lintels, held in place with  mortise and tenon  joints, make it unique.  [15]    [16]  

Early history

    Plan of Stonehenge in 2004. After Cleal et al. and Pitts. Italicised numbers in the text refer to the labels on this plan. Trilithon lintels omitted for clarity. Holes that no longer, or never, contained stones are shown as open circles. Stones visible today are shown coloured.

 Mike Parker Pearson , leader of the  Stonehenge Riverside Project  based around  Durrington Walls , noted that Stonehenge appears to have been associated with burial from the earliest period of its existence:

Stonehenge evolved in several construction phases spanning at least 1500 years. There is evidence of large-scale construction on and around the monument that perhaps extends the landscape's time frame to 6500 years. Dating and understanding the various phases of activity are complicated by disturbance of the natural  chalk  by  periglacial  effects and animal burrowing, poor quality early  excavation  records, and a lack of accurate, scientifically verified dates. The modern phasing most generally agreed to by archaeologists is detailed below. Features mentioned in the text are numbered and shown on the plan, right.

Before the monument (from 8000 BC)

Archaeologists have found four, or possibly five, large  Mesolithic   postholes  (one may have been a natural  tree throw ), which date to around 8000 BC, beneath the nearby old tourist car-park in use until 2013. These held pine posts around two feet six inches (0.75 m) in diameter, which were erected and eventually rotted in situ. Three of the posts (and possibly four) were in an east–west alignment which may have had  ritual  significance.  [17]   Another Mesolithic astronomical site in Britain is the  Warren Field  site in  Aberdeenshire , which is considered the world's oldest  lunar calendar , corrected yearly by observing the  midwinter solstice .  [18]   Similar but later sites have been found in  Scandinavia .  [19]   A settlement that may have been contemporaneous with the posts has been found at  Blick Mead , a reliable year-round spring one mile (1.6 km) from Stonehenge.  [20]    [21]  

 Salisbury Plain  was then still wooded, but 4,000 years later, during the earlier Neolithic, people built a  causewayed enclosure  at  Robin Hood's Ball , and  long barrow  tombs in the surrounding landscape. In approximately 3500 BC, a  Stonehenge Cursus  was built 2,300 feet (700 m) north of the site as the first farmers began to clear the trees and develop the area. Other previously overlooked stone or wooden structures and burial mounds may date as far back as 4000 BC.  [22]    [23]   Charcoal from the ‘Blick Mead’ camp 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from Stonehenge (near the  Vespasian's Camp  site) has been dated to 4000 BC.  [24]   The  University of Buckingham 's Humanities Research Institute believes that the community who built Stonehenge lived here over a period of several millennia, making it potentially "one of the pivotal places in the history of the Stonehenge landscape."  [25]  

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Pyramids of Giza

The Giza pyramid complex ( Arabic : مجمع أهرامات الجيزة), also called the Giza necropolis, is the site on the  Giza Plateau  in  Greater Cairo  Egypt  that includes the  Great Pyramid of Giza , the  Pyramid of Khafre , and the  Pyramid of Menkaure , along with their associated pyramid complexes and the  Great Sphinx of Giza . All were built during the  Fourth Dynasty  of the  Old Kingdom  of  Ancient Egypt , between 2600 and 2500 BC. The site also includes several cemeteries and the remains of a workers' village.

The site is at the edges of the  Western Desert , approximately 9 kilometres (5.6 mi) west of the  Nile River  in the city of  Giza , and about 13 kilometres (8 mi) southwest of the city centre of  Cairo . Along with nearby  Memphis , the site was inscribed on the  UNESCO   World Heritage List  in 1979.  [1]  

The Great Pyramid and the Pyramid of Khafre are the largest  pyramids built in ancient Egypt , and they have historically been common as emblems of  Ancient Egypt in the Western imagination .  [2]    [3]   They were popularised in  Hellenistic  times, when the Great Pyramid was listed by  Antipater of Sidon  as one of the  Seven Wonders of the World . It is by far the oldest of the Ancient Wonders and the only one still in existence.

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The Sphinx

The Great Sphinx of Giza is a  limestone  statue of a reclining  sphinx , a  mythical creature  with the head of a human, and the body of a lion.  [1]   Facing directly from west to east, it stands on the  Giza Plateau  on the west bank of the  Nile  in  Giza  Egypt . The face of the Sphinx appears to represent the  pharaoh   Khafre .  [2]  

The original shape of the Sphinx was cut from the  bedrock , and has since been restored with layers of  limestone blocks .  [3]   It measures 73 m (240 ft) long from paw to tail, 20 m (66 ft) high from the base to the top of the head and 19 m (62 ft) wide at its rear haunches.  [4]   Its nose was broken off for unknown reasons between the 3rd and 10th centuries AD.

The Sphinx is the oldest known  monumental sculpture  in Egypt and one of the most recognisable statues in the world. The archaeological evidence suggests that it was created by ancient Egyptians of the  Old Kingdom  during the reign of Khafre (c. 2558–2532 BC)

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Chichen Itza

Chichen Itza was a large  pre-Columbian   city  built by the  Maya people  of the Terminal Classic period. The  archeological site  is located in  Tinúm Municipality  Yucatán State  Mexico .  [1]  

Chichen Itza was a major focal point in the Northern  Maya Lowlands  from the  Late Classic  (c. AD 600–900) through the  Terminal Classic  (c. AD 800–900) and into the early portion of the  Postclassic  period (c. AD 900–1200). The site exhibits a multitude of  architectural  styles, reminiscent of styles seen in central Mexico and of the  Puuc  and Chenes styles of the Northern Maya lowlands. The presence of central Mexican styles was once thought to have been representative of direct migration or even conquest from central Mexico, but most contemporary interpretations view the presence of these non-Maya styles more as the result of  cultural diffusion .

Chichen Itza was one of the largest Maya cities and it was likely to have been one of the mythical great cities, or  Tollans , referred to in later  Mesoamerican  literature.  [2]   The city may have had the most diverse population in the Maya world, a factor that could have contributed to the variety of architectural styles at the site.  [3]  

The ruins of Chichen Itza are federal property, and the site's stewardship is maintained by Mexico's  Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia  (National Institute of Anthropology and History). The land under the monuments had been privately owned until 29 March 2010, when it was purchased by the state of Yucatán.  [nb 2]  

Chichen Itza is one of the most visited archeological sites in Mexico with over 2.6 million tourists in 2017.

3200 B.C.

Newgrange

2550 - 2500 B.C.

Pyramid of Giza

2500 B.C.

Sphinx

2500 B.C.

Stonehenge

600 - 900 A.D.

Chichen Itza

Newgrange

Newgrange is located in Donore, Co. Meath

Winter Solstice Illumination of Newgrange Chamber

Newgrange is best known for the illumination of its passage and chamber by the rising sun at the  Winter Solstice . Above the entrance to the passage of the mound there is a opening called a roof-box. On mornings around the winter solstice a beam of light penetrates the roof-box and travels up the 19 meter passage and into the chamber. As the sun rises higher, the beam widens so that the whole chamber is dramatically illuminated. Access to the chamber on the Solstice mornings is decided by a  lottery  that takes place at the end of September each year. All are welcome to gather outside the entrance to the Newgrange mound on each of the mornings from December 19th to December 23rd inclusive, sunrise is at 8.58am. Access via the Brú na Bóinne  Visitor Centre  or directly to the actual Newgrange monument.

The Winter Solstice is an astronomical phenomenon that marks the shortest day and the longest night of the year. In the Northern Hemisphere, the Winter Solstice occurs on 21 or 22 December, when the sun shines directly over the tropic of Capricorn. At sunrise on the shortest day of the year, for 17 minutes, direct sunlight can enter the Newgrange monument, not through the doorway, but through the specially contrived small opening above the entrance known as the ‘roof box’, to illuminate the Chamber.

Newgrange

Stonehenge

Stonehenge has long been the subject of historical  speculation , and ideas about the meaning and significance of the structure continued to develop in the 21st century. English antiquarian  John Aubrey  in the 17th century and his compatriot archaeologist  William Stukeley  in the 18th century both believed the structure to be a  Druid  temple. This idea has been rejected by more-recent scholars, however, as Stonehenge is now understood to have predated by some 2,000 years the Druids recorded by  Julius Caesar .

In 1963 American astronomer Gerald Hawkins proposed that Stonehenge had been constructed as a “computer” to predict lunar and solar eclipses; other scientists also attributed astronomical capabilities to the monument. Most of these speculations, too, have been rejected by experts. In 1973 English archaeologist Colin Renfrew hypothesized that Stonehenge was the centre of a confederation of Bronze Age chiefdoms. Other archaeologists, however, have since come to view this part of Salisbury Plain as a point of intersection between  adjacent  prehistoric territories, serving as a seasonal gathering place during the 4th and 3rd millennia BCE for groups living in the lowlands to the east and west. In 1998  Malagasy  archaeologist Ramilisonina proposed that Stonehenge was built as a monument to the ancestral dead, the permanence of its stones representing the eternal afterlife.

Stonehenge is possibly the most famous megalithic site in the British Isles

Construction took place over 6 different time periods, increasing the scale and complexity

The heaviest stones weigh as much as 30 tons and is still unclear how or why the stones were moved into this arrangement.


The Pyramids and Sphinx of Giza

It is estimated that the stones used to build the King's Chamber were not quarried near the site at Giza but were shipped by boat the 870 miles along the River Nile. The journey is shown below and spans nearly the length of Egypt. These granite blocks weighed as much as 80 tons.

Route from Aswan to Giza along the Nile for transporting large granite blocks for the King's Chamber.

The Sphinx

The Sphinx was not assembled piece by piece but was carved from a single mass of limestone exposed when workers dug a horseshoe-shaped quarry in the Giza plateau. Approximately 66 feet tall and 240 feet long, it is one of the largest and oldest monolithic statues in the world. Nobody knows its original name. Sphinx is the human-headed lion in ancient Greek mythology; the term likely came into use some 2,000 years after the statue was built. There are hundreds of tombs at Giza with hieroglyphic inscriptions dating back some 4,500 years, but not one mentions the statue. “The Egyptians didn’t write history,” says James Allen, an Egyptologist at Brown University, “so we have no solid evidence for what its builders thought the Sphinx was....Certainly something divine, presumably the image of a king, but beyond that is anyone’s guess.” Likewise, the statue’s symbolism is unclear, though inscriptions from the era refer to Ruti, a double lion god that sat at the entrance to the underworld and guarded the horizon where the sun rose and set.

An artist's interpretation of what Giza may have looked like 2500 B.C.

The face, though better preserved than most of the statue, has been battered by centuries of weathering and vandalism. In 1402, an Arab historian reported that a Sufi zealot had disfigured it “to remedy some religious errors.” Yet there are clues to what the face looked like in its prime. Archaeological excavations in the early 19th century found pieces of its carved stone beard and a royal cobra emblem from its headdress. Residues of red pigment are still visible on the face, leading researchers to conclude that at some point, the Sphinx’s entire visage was painted red. Traces of blue and yellow paint elsewhere suggest to Lehner that the Sphinx was once decked out in gaudy comic book colors.

For thousands of years, sand buried the colossus up to its shoulders, creating a vast disembodied head atop the eastern edge of the Sahara. Then, in 1817, a Genoese adventurer, Capt. Giovanni Battista Caviglia, led 160 men in the first modern attempt to dig out the Sphinx. They could not hold back the sand, which poured into their excavation pits nearly as fast as they could dig it out. The Egyptian archaeologist Selim Hassan finally freed the statue from the sand in the late 1930s. “The Sphinx has thus emerged into the landscape out of shadows of what seemed to be an impenetrable oblivion,” the New York Times declared.


Chichen Itza

Standing at 98 feet tall, El Castillo, an ancient pyramid constructed by the Mayan people sometime between the 9th and 12th centuries, is the tallest structure in Chichen Itza.

Chichen Itza was a large  pre-Columbian   city  built by the  Maya people  of the Terminal Classic period. The  archeological site  is located in  Tinúm Municipality  Yucatán State  Mexico .

The main pyramid contains smaller pyramids inside of it. The larger structure was likely build around the smaller ones at a later time period.

For more info contact G00411567@atu.ie

An artist's interpretation of what Giza may have looked like 2500 B.C.