6 JULY, 2023
Sweta Gupta
Photo: Getty Images
A man carved his and his fiancee's initials on to the 2000-year-old Colosseum in Rome, sparking outrage. He said that he did not know the Colosseum 'was that old'. Meanwhile, here are the world's oldest monuments.
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9,600 – 8,200 BCE Discovered during an archeological dig in the early 1960s, it is an ancient site in Turkey, potentially used by nomadic tribes for shelter and religious practices.
Photo: UNESCO
7,500 – 6,400 BCE Three mound settlement, mud-brick houses, stacked up to eighteen stories high, stand out for their architectural value. The walls feature murals of animals, human figures, and religious symbols.
Photo: Getty Images
4,800 – 3,500 BCE Colossal chambered cairn with megalithic art. Tomb turned habitation site, extending 72 m in length, 25 m in width and 8 m high.
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4,000 – 3,650 BCE An Ozieri site in Sardinia, this mysterious step pyramid with no chambers or entrances with animals remains hint at possible religious rituals.
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3,600 – 3,200 BCE Prehistoric limestone complex on the Maltese island of Gozo, predating Stonehenge. Abandoned by a lost religion around 2500 BCE.
Photo: Iran Travels
3,200 – 2,350 BCE Iran's Bronze Age ruins. A Helmand civilisation, it suffered burnings before abandonment. Unearthed artefacts - oldest artificial eyeball, board game, and brain surgery evidence.
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3,000 – 2,500 BCE: Neolithic village with sunken stone houses, primitive plumbing, covered passageways. The local Groove Wear people engaged in hunting, farming, and fishing.
3,000 – 2,000 BCE The iconic circle of standing stones on Salisbury Plain where uncertainty lingers on stone origin, transportation, and neolithic structures.
Photo: Getty Images
Photo: Getty Images
2,630 BCE Egypt's first pyramid served as the burial tomb for Pharaoh Djoser. This six-tiered step pyramid, standing at 205 ft, housed storage tunnels, and galleries.
Photo: Getty Images
2,600 – 1,900 BCE Over 4,000 years old, home to Harappan civilisation. Mohenjo-Daro features advanced sewage system, public baths, and large grain storage facility.