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#ancient monument
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speedilydeepruins · 6 months
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Dendera Temple Complex 3
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vox-anglosphere · 9 months
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At 5000 yrs, the Fortingall Yew Tree is the planet's oldest living thing.
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Stela N by Alfred Maudslay, Copan, Honduras 1885.
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abcthv9597 · 4 days
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Today I went to the Pillars of Olympian Zeus in Athens, Greece and I wanted to show you!
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superwings-cultural · 1 month
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Architecture and Monuments: Great Sphinx of Giza - Egypt
The Great Sphinx of Giza is a limestonestatue of a reclining sphinx, a mythical creature with the head of a human and the body of a lion. Facing directly from west to east, it stands on the Giza Plateau on the west bank of the Nile in Giza, Egypt.
The Sphinx is the oldest known monumental sculpture in Egypt and one of the most recognizable 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).
A special feature of the Sphinx is its actual lack of a nose. The circumstances surrounding it about being broken off are uncertain, but close inspection suggests a deliberate act using rods or chisels. Contrary to a popular myth, it was not broken off by cannonfire from Napoleon's troops during his 1798 Egyptian campaign. Its absence is in fact depicted in artwork predating Napoleon and referred to in descriptions by the 15th-century historian al-Maqrīzī.
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It is unknown how the name of the Sphinx came to be, due to propably multiples origins, for example of its creator of the Old Kingdom, as the Sphinx temple, enclosure, and possibly the Sphinx itself was not completed at the time, and thus cultural material was limited. In the New Kingdom, the Sphinx was revered as the solar deity Hor-em-akhet (English: "Horus of the Horizon"; Hellenized: Harmachis)
The commonly used name "Sphinx" was given to it in classical antiquity, about 2,000 years after the commonly accepted date of its construction by reference to a Greek mythological beast with the head of a woman, a falcon, a cat, or a sheep and the body of a lion with the wings of an eagle (although, like most Egyptian sphinxes, the Great Sphinx has a man's head and no wings). The English word sphinx comes from the ancient Greek "Σφίγξ" (transliterated: sphinx) apparently from the verb σφίγγω (transliterated: sphingo / English: to squeeze), after the Greek sphinx who strangled anyone who failed to answer her riddle.
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Over the centuries, writers and scholars have recorded their impressions and reactions upon seeing the Sphinx. The vast majority were concerned with a general description, often including a mixture of science, romance and mystique.
From the 16th to the 19th centuries, European observers described the Sphinx having the face, neck and breast of a woman. Examples included Johannes Helferich (1579), George Sandys (1615), Johann Michael Vansleb (1677), and some others following it. Most early Western images were book illustrations in print form, elaborated by a professional engraver from either previous images available or some original drawing or sketch supplied by an author, and usually now lost. Seven years after visiting Giza, André Thévet (Cosmographie de Levant, 1556) described the Sphinx as "the head of a colossus, caused to be made by Isis, daughter of Inachus, then so beloved of Jupiter". He, or his artist and engraver, pictured it as a curly-haired monster with a grassy dog collar. Athanasius Kircher, however, depicted the Sphinx as a Roman statue
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blueiskewl · 1 year
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City of Gladiators Fountain Flows Again After 2,000-Years in Turkey
An ancient fountain that was destroyed in a 23 BC earthquake has been restored in Turkey's “City of Gladiators.' Now, the two millennia old water font is streaming drinkable water again, just as it did some 2,000-years ago.
Unearthing Turkey’s Ancient City Of Gladiators
The ancient city of Kibyra, or Cibyra Magna, is situated in the township of Gölhisar in the southwestern Burdur Province of Turkey. In ancient times it represented the capital city of an independent state known as Cibyratis, that lay just outside the north-western limits of the ancient province of Lycia, that thrived in Anatolia from 15-14th centuries BC, and as Lukka until 546 BC.
Strabo recorded Kibyra as having originally been settled by ‘Lydians,’ who were indigenous people in this region of Asia Minor. These people constructed over 100 stadiums and after the Roman general Lucius Licinius Murena defeated the ruler of Kibrya in 83 BC the city became part of the greater Roman province of Asia. Listed on the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List , ancient Kibyra is known as the “City of Gladiators.” Now, archaeologists have announced that “a colossal fountain” has been restored and that it will “flow with fresh water for the first time in 2,000 years.”
Piecing Together An Ancient Masterpiece
Dr. Sukru Ozudogru, an archaeologist at Mehmet Akif Ersoy University, recently told Anadolu Agency ( AA) that his team of archaeologists have spent the past four months collecting “150 original fragments from the ruins.” Now, they have successfully “pieced the architectural masterpiece back together.” The “round-planned fountain” measures 15.24 meters (50 ft) in diameter by 7.92 (26 ft) high and after being built it was used for more than 600 years.
The team of archaeologists have also restored the original water supply system from the spring, so that the fountain now flows with drinkable water “just the way it did 2,000 years ago.”
Dr. Ozudogru described the water from the restored fountain as “spouting from the mouths of lion and panther.” Not only do these two animals feature heavily in Roman mythology but they are two of the animals that gladiators fought in the arenas. Incidentally, it was after the discovery of the “10,400-person stadium” that hosted hundreds of gladiatorial fights that Kibyra became known as the “City of Gladiators.”
Rebuilding What Nature Attempted To Destroy
Blending both Roman and Byzantine architectural styles, during the 1000 years of the Roman empire the city became famous for its blood-thirsty gladiatorial contests. However, a 23 BC earthquake almost flattened Kiybra, and if it were not for diligent citizens in the aftermath rebuilding the giant fountain it would have been lost in time long ago.
The AA article said the restoration of the fountain and its two pools required “68 original architectural pieces and 24 imitation blocks produced from the original stone type.” Furthermore, it was observed that the original fountain featured one large circular pool and the second pool was added decades later. Dr. Ozudogru maintains that when the fountain was functional, some 2,000-years-ago, the two circular pools supplied potable water to four different parts of the city.
Sticking With The Original Plan
As far as aesthetics are concerned, fragmentary remains informed the researchers the original fountain was detailed with “elaborate statues of animals, huge columns and embossed friezes.” The archaeologists used two moldings taken from original sculptures that were both unearthed during recent excavations, and the originals are currently being exhibited in the Burdur Museum.
The researcher explained that in Roman times “Water was a mythological hero” that flowed into the two pools from the mouths of “lion and panther” statues. Relating these two animals to Roman mythology “ Heracles lay on a panther skin and Dionysus, the god of wine, wore a lion skin," according to the professor. However, both of these animals were fought by gladiators in the 10,400-person stadium in Kibrya, which Akkurnaz explained “was a building designed for an assortment of blood-soaked spectacles, including gladiator fights and wild animal fights”.
By Ashley Cowie.
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haxanbroker · 1 year
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Castlerigg Stone Circle. Keswick, Cumbria, September 2018.
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madeleineengland · 2 years
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Palazzo Ducale/Doge Palace (Venice, Italy)
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aphroditeurania22 · 2 years
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The Temple of Zeus in ancient Cyrene of Libya, 5th century BC North Africa
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cult-of-mithras · 1 year
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Sunrise at Ballymacdermot Cairn on the Winter Solstice.
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tumbling-dyce · 2 years
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Chester Higgins,  Kemet, The 4,700 year-old Bent Pyramid of King Snefru, Dynasty 4. Dashur, Egypt, 2010 (© Chester Higgins)
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thejewellerybox · 2 years
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Goldhenge necklace and ring, Solid by Solange Azagury-Partridge, 2021
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Tomb of Ramesses VI, Valley of the Kings discovered in 1898.
Source: World of History
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careerinruins · 1 year
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Arthur's Stone is a fabulous pre-historic monument, a Neolithic burial chamber made of great stone slabs with a huge cap stone weighing some 25tonnes that has cracked in half. Set in the hills above Herefordshire's Golden Valley which is rich in prehistoric archaeology.
Like many prehistoric monuments in western England and Wales, this tomb has been linked to King Arthur since before the 13th century. According to legend, it was here that Arthur slew a giant who left the impression of his elbows on one of the stones as he fell.
It has recently been excavated by archaeologists for the very first time (the dig was featured on Digging for Britain on the BBC 2023) and I can’t wait to read the results.
It is free to visit and is owned and managed by English Heritage.
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