Historic sites
Monuments that outlived empires
The great monuments and ruins of the world, oldest first. Each page tells the site’s story and traces every state that held the ground it stands on.
90 sites
Before 3000 BCE
3000–1000 BCE
- StonehengeUnited Kingdom · c. 3000 BCE
- TroyTurkey · c. 3000 BCE
- CaralPeru · c. 2600 BCE
- Pyramids of GizaEgypt · c. 2600 BCE
- Great Sphinx of GizaEgypt · c. 2500 BCE
- Mohenjo-daroPakistan · c. 2500 BCE
- KnossosGreece · c. 2000 BCE
- KarnakEgypt · c. 1971 BCE
- Valley of the KingsEgypt · c. 1539 BCE
- Abu SimbelEgypt · c. 1264 BCE
1000 BCE–1 CE
- DelphiGreece · c. 800 BCE
- OlympiaGreece · c. 776 BCE
- Great Wall of ChinaChina · c. 700 BCE
- PompeiiItaly · c. 700 BCE
- Leptis MagnaLibya · c. 650 BCE
- Roman ForumItaly · c. 600 BCE
- PasargadaeIran · c. 546 BCE
- Behistun InscriptionIran · c. 520 BCE
- PersepolisIran · c. 518 BCE
- Monte AlbánMexico · c. 500 BCE
- Nazca LinesPeru · c. 500 BCE
- ParthenonGreece · c. 447 BCE
- TikalGuatemala · c. 400 BCE
- PetraJordan · c. 300 BCE
- Pyramids of MeroëSudan · c. 300 BCE
- Sanchi StupaIndia · c. 250 BCE
- Terracotta ArmyChina · c. 246 BCE
- Ajanta CavesIndia · c. 200 BCE
- TeotihuacanMexico · c. 100 BCE
- MasadaIsrael · c. 37 BCE
1–1000 CE
- Pont du GardFrance · c. 40 CE
- ColosseumItaly · c. 70 CE
- Pantheon, RomeItaly · c. 113 CE
- Hadrian's WallUnited Kingdom · c. 122 CE
- Mogao CavesChina · c. 366 CE
- SigiriyaSri Lanka · c. 477 CE
- Hagia SophiaTurkey · c. 532 CE
- Buddhas of BamiyanAfghanistan · c. 570 CE
- Chichen ItzaMexico · c. 600 CE
- Ellora CavesIndia · c. 600 CE
- Sutton HooUnited Kingdom · c. 600 CE
- Dome of the RockIsrael / Palestine · c. 691 CE
- Leshan Giant BuddhaChina · c. 713 CE
- Tōdai-jiJapan · c. 743 CE
- BorobudurIndonesia · c. 780 CE
- Mosque–Cathedral of CórdobaSpain · c. 785 CE
- Chaco CanyonUnited States · c. 850 CE
- Chan ChanPeru · c. 850 CE
- PrambananIndonesia · c. 850 CE
- Kilwa KisiwaniTanzania · c. 900 CE
- Mont-Saint-MichelFrance · c. 966 CE
1000–1500
- L'Anse aux MeadowsCanada · c. 1000 CE
- BaganMyanmar · c. 1044 CE
- CahokiaUnited States · c. 1050 CE
- Tower of LondonUnited Kingdom · c. 1078 CE
- Great ZimbabweZimbabwe · c. 1100 CE
- Angkor WatCambodia · c. 1113 CE
- Notre-Dame de ParisFrance · c. 1163 CE
- Nan MadolMicronesia · c. 1180 CE
- Mesa VerdeUnited States · c. 1190 CE
- Qutb MinarIndia · c. 1199 CE
- Rock-hewn churches of LalibelaEthiopia · c. 1200 CE
- AlhambraSpain · c. 1238 CE
- Konark Sun TempleIndia · c. 1250 CE
- Moai of Easter IslandChile · c. 1250 CE
- Himeji CastleJapan · c. 1333 CE
- GyeongbokgungSouth Korea · c. 1395 CE
- Forbidden CityChina · c. 1406 CE
- Machu PicchuPeru · c. 1450 CE
- Topkapı PalaceTurkey · c. 1459 CE
- Elmina CastleGhana · c. 1482 CE
- Moscow KremlinRussia · c. 1482 CE
1500 to today
- Fatehpur SikriIndia · c. 1571 CE
- Taj MahalIndia · c. 1632 CE
- Red FortIndia · c. 1639 CE
- Potala PalaceChina · c. 1645 CE
- Palace of VersaillesFrance · c. 1661 CE
- The AlamoUnited States · c. 1724 CE
- Independence HallUnited States · c. 1732 CE
- Brandenburg GateGermany · c. 1788 CE
- Suez CanalEgypt · c. 1859 CE
- Panama CanalPanama · c. 1881 CE
- Statue of LibertyUnited States · c. 1886 CE
- AuschwitzPoland · c. 1940 CE