Great pyramid of Giza-this extravagant piece of ancient architecture is located in Giza, Egypt, near the country’s capital, Cairo. Its towering bulk is made out of over two million blocks of limestone chipped to the right size. Each block weighs about as much as a small car. When it was first built it was thought to have originally been 146.5 metres (480.6 feet) tall. It was covered by a casing stone to form a smooth outer surface, evidence of this still remains at the base of the pyramid; today though all you see is the rough core structure. It is believed to have been a tomb for the pharaoh of the fourth dynasty-Khufu. The great pyramid is the oldest wonder of the world, and held the record for the largest man-made structure for over 3800 years-the longest time period for the record ever held. People are still baffled by its existence today, and it truly is one of the greatest wonders of the world.
Hanging gardens of Babylon-you will find this questionable stone wonder by the Euphrates River, near Baghdad, Iraq. It is 320 feet high, 80 feet thick, with 250 watch towers and 100 bronze gates. The hanging gardens of Babylon were built for Amytis of media by her husband Nebuchadnezzar II. It was constructed of mud brick and stone with terraces one on top of the other. The beautiful edifice was enthralled with plants, flowers, trees-every type of plant available in the kingdom-lawns, fountains, pools and miniature water falls. Water was pumped from the Euphrates River to flow through channels to the plants because they couldn’t survive without water. Sadly, though, around first century BC a series earthquakes destroyed what was left of the spectacular structure. Nothing remains in the land in present-day Iraq or in museums.
Temple of Artemis at Ephesus-this great monument was a Greek temple dedicated to a goddess Greeks identified as Artemis. It was sited at Ephesus (the modern town of Selçuk in present-day Turkey), and was completely rebuilt three times before its eventual destruction in 401 by St John Chrysostom, archbishop of Ephesus, who influenced a mob of Christians to completely destroy the temple. Only foundations and sculptural fragments of the latest of the temples at the site remain.
The statue of Zeus at Olympia-this intimidating piece of art work was made by the Greek sculptor Phidias, circa 432 BC on the site where it was erected in the Temple of Zeus, Olympia, Greece. The seated statue, 12 metres tall, occupied half of the width of the aisle of the temple built to house it. The Zeus was a chryselephantine sculpture, made of ivory and gold-plated bronze. The date of the statue, in the third quarter of the 5th century BC, was confirmed archaeologically by the rediscovery and excavation of Phidias' workshop. The towering structure was destroyed in a fire, though, in the 5th-6th centuries AD.
It is believed to have been a tomb for the pharaoh of the fourth dynasty-Khufu. The great pyramid is the oldest wonder of the world, and held the record for the largest man-made structure for over 3800 years-the longest time period for the record ever held. People are still baffled by its existence today, and it truly is one of the greatest wonders of the world.
Hanging gardens of Babylon-you will find this questionable stone wonder by the Euphrates River, near Baghdad, Iraq. It is 320 feet high, 80 feet thick, with 250 watch towers and 100 bronze gates. The hanging gardens of Babylon were built for Amytis of media by her husband Nebuchadnezzar II. It was constructed of mud brick and stone with terraces one on top of the other. The beautiful edifice was enthralled with plants, flowers, trees-every type of plant available in the kingdom-lawns, fountains, pools and miniature water falls. Water was pumped from the Euphrates River to flow through channels to the plants because they couldn’t survive without water.
Sadly, though, around first century BC a series earthquakes destroyed what was left of the spectacular structure. Nothing remains in the land in present-day Iraq or in museums.
Temple of Artemis at Ephesus-this great monument was a Greek temple dedicated to a goddess Greeks identified as Artemis. It was sited at Ephesus (the modern town of Selçuk in present-day Turkey), and was completely rebuilt three times before its eventual destruction in 401 by St John Chrysostom, archbishop of Ephesus, who influenced a mob of Christians to completely destroy the temple. Only foundations and sculptural fragments of the latest of the temples at the site remain.
The statue of Zeus at Olympia-this intimidating piece of art work was made by the Greek sculptor Phidias, circa 432 BC on the site where it was erected in the Temple of Zeus, Olympia, Greece. The seated statue, 12 metres tall, occupied half of the width of the aisle of the temple built to house it. The Zeus was a chryselephantine sculpture, made of ivory and gold-plated bronze. The date of the statue, in the third quarter of the 5th century BC, was confirmed archaeologically by the rediscovery and excavation of Phidias' workshop. The towering structure was destroyed in a fire, though, in the 5th-6th centuries AD.