The Most Outstanding Architectural Wonders of the Ancient World

Even though the world’s biggest cities are filled with amazing skyscrapers and tall bridges, some of the most unbelievable structures ever built are ancient. Kings and rulers have always been fascinated with architecture and this is why there are tens of incredible architectural structures that date thousands of years. With that said, today we are going to present the top 20 most impressive and outstanding architectural wonders of the ancient world.

20. The Great Wall of China

What better way to start other than with the Great Wall of China? The wall was built by Chinese Emperor Qin Shi Huang back in the third century B.C. and it covers nearly 4,000 miles of China’s surface.

19. The Pyramids

When it comes to amazing prehistorical architectural builds, the pyramids are the most famous ones and there is no doubt about that. The amazing thing about the pyramids is that they are quite difficult to built and there are many conspiracy theorists that believe they were built with help from aliens.

18. The Roman Aqueducts

The Roman Empire built many incredible buildings during its reign and the Aqueducts are some of the most famous ones. What makes these Aqueducts stand out is the fact that they show just how smart Roman engineers were back in 145 B.C.

17. The City of the Sun

The City of the Sun is located in Baalbek, Lebanon and it is a massive temple. The temple has lots of charming courtyards, stone stairways and many other architectural designs that make it one of the world’s most beautiful prehistorical architectural wonders.

16. Temple of Hera

Since we are talking about ancient temples, we have to mention the Temple of Hera. The temple is built in Italy and it’s filled with dozens of stone columns that are all dedicated to the Goddess Hera.

15. Stonehenge

There are lots of great prehistorical architectural wonders in the UK, but Stonehenge is the one that stands out the most. Lots of people believe that this place was built by ancient druids so that they can have a meeting place for rituals.

14. Newgrange

Newgrange is a prehistoric monument located in Ireland. The monument was built back in 3,200 B.C. during the Neolithic period and it is filled with sleeping chambers inside. We can be sure that digging up this massive hill wasn’t an easy job.

13. Al Khazneh

Al Khazneh is located in Petra, Jordan and it is carved in rose-colored stone. This prehistorical architecture wonder is often dubbed as the “underground city” since it’s all carved in sandstone. In addition, this place was used as a hiding spot by thieves back in the first century A.D.

12. AchitChand Baori

As we can clearly see in the picture featured above, AchitChandi Baori is one of the most incredible prehistorical wonders to ever be discovered. The wonder is located in India and local rumors have it that it was built by ghosts who wanted to make their resting place. The AchitChand Baori has 13 stories!

11. Megalithic Temples

There are 11 Megalithic Temples and they all are located in Malta. The temples were built between 3,000 B.C. and 700 B.C. Archeologists and historians are describing these temples as “the oldest freestanding buildings”.

10. Ancient Greek Parthenon on the Acropolis

Italy is always a popular destination spot for vacations and the reason behind this is that Italy is filled with lots of incredible architectural wonders and the Ancient Greek Parthenon which is located on the Acropolis is the perfect example of that.

9. The Gobekli Tepe

The Gobekli Tepe is located in Turkey and it is made from nearly 200 pillars. Not just that, but this architectural wonder also features hundreds of rock statue carvings of different animals. The pillars located in Gobekli Tepe weigh just a little bit more than 60 tons!

8. Ggantija Malta in Gozo

This is a complex prehistoric structure that is made from two megalithic temples which are located on the Maltese island of Gozo. The two temples were built somewhere around 3,600 B.C. and they are the oldest religious structures ever found.

7. The Olmec Heads

These two giant heads were found in Mexico and they were built between 1,500 to 1,000 B.C. The most incredible thing about the two heads is that each one of them weighs in around fifty tons!

6. Borobudur

Borobudur is a Buddhist temple located in Indonesia. The temple was built during the 9th century and it contains more than 500 stone carved Buddha statues. The ancient temple is still used as a pilgrimage site to this day.

5. The Alhambra

Spain is renowned for its incredible architects such as Gaudi. Therefore, it should come as no surprise that this amazing looking palace named The Alhambra is located in Spain.

4. Tumulos of Bougon

The Tumulos of Bougon is located in France and it’s a human-made passage through a mound. The passage features a rectangular chamber inside where a 90-ton capstone which covers the entire central hall of the passage can be found.

3. Knap of Howar

Knap of Howar is known for being the oldest house in Northern Europe and it was built back in 3,700 B.C. The house is a farmstead and it was used as a residence by a wealthy ancient family.

2. Cairn of Gavrinis

This is a megalithic monument that is renowned for featuring thousands of megalithic art pieces on its walls. The Carin of Gavrinis was built back in 3,500 B.C. and it shows just how amazing the Neolithic dry stone architecture was.

1. Theatre of Marcellus

The Theatre of Marcellus is located in Italy and it was commissioned by none other than the famous Roman Emperor Julius Caesar. The theatre could hold up to 20,000 spectators and it still features many beautiful columns, stairways and arches.