From the Colosseum to the Lighthouse of Alexandria: what 5 historic monuments looked like in antiquity

Nowadays, many buildings from the ancient world are carefully restored and preserved, so that they are preserved as much as possible. Unfortunately, this did not always happen, and many of these masterpieces of architecture were looted or destroyed, whether by the action of man or nature. For example, the famous Lighthouse of Alexandria did not reach our time due to an earthquake.

O awesome.club suggests that you check out how majestic ancient buildings (which are very popular today) were, according to archaeologists, at the time of their construction.

Machu Picchu is an ancient city located in the territory of present-day Peru, and is located at 2,450 meters above sea level. The place has several nicknames, and one of them is “The Lost City of the Incas”🇧🇷 There are about 200 buildings in the complex: warehouses, temples, residences and places for public needs. Most of the city is made of processed stones and slabs. Supposedly, the city was home to about a thousand people, who were mainly engaged in agriculture and construction.

Many archaeologists believe that the city was built by the Inca leader Pachacutec around the year 1440, decades before the Spanish invasion of the territory.

Few people have ever heard of this grandiose construction: the Flavian Amphitheater, or Coliseum. There, battles between gladiators were held, but maybe you didn’t know that the naval battles of these gladiators were also organized there🇧🇷 This show was called navmakhia.

The first navmakhias were carried out in specific excavations. In the year 46 AD, Julius Caesar ordered an entire lake to be excavated at the Champ de Mars for an entertainment event. Later, the fights began to take place in amphitheaters, which were flooded.

Emperor Domitian, the last of the Flavian dynasty, commissioned sea battles at the Colosseum. But after having built a network of tunnels under the building, it became impossible to perform navmakhias in the big arena.

Teotihuacán is an abandoned citadel not far from Mexico City. It is believed to have been one of the largest urban agglomerations in pre-Columbian America, with a population of approximately 125,000 people, in an area of ​​26 to 28 square kilometers.

Teotihuacán developed according to a well-laid plan. Evidence of this is the network of streets that intersect the central avenue at right angles.

There are several hypotheses about the reasons that led to the collapse of the city, but scholars agree with two of them: a revolt against the nobility and a foreign invasion. All the tombs were looted and the statues destroyed. In the middle of the 7th century, the city was abandoned. These theories have every right to exist, but the truth is that there are contradictory data: no signs of violence or rebellion were found at the site.

The lighthouse was erected on the island of Faro (Mediterranean Sea), opposite the coast of Alexandria. The structure was named Farol de Faros, and was located in the port founded by Alexander the Great in 332 BC

Giant, the construction was between 120 and 135 meters high and, according to witnesses, emitted a light that could be seen from a distance of 81 kilometers. Despite its impressive size, the lighthouse only stood for 5 years.

It is sad that the Lighthouse of Alexandria has not made it to the present day: in the 14th century, it was destroyed by an earthquake🇧🇷 Years later, the lighthouse fragments were used in the construction of the Qaitbay fort, which was subsequently renovated several times.

The Temple of Inscriptions is one of the largest pyramids left by the Mayan civilization. It is located at the archaeological site of Palenque. The construction has 9 floors, and the upper part has a temple with a burial chamber.

Thanks to discoveries by archaeologists and digital technologies, reconstructions of many places in pre-Columbian America have been prepared. To see what the pyramids and the planning adopted by the Mayan cities, visit the site dedicated to this ancient civilization.