September 12th, 2014

A sensational find by a German archaeologist in Anatolia allows you to take a fresh look at the ancient history of human civilization. On a mountainside in Southeast Turkey, near the Syrian border, an expedition led by Klaus Schmidt unearthed a magnificent ancient temple that is 12 thousand years old.

The oldest of the cult structures found to date, Gebekli Tepe, built in the early Neolithic era, was discovered in the middle of the twentieth century. However, scientists only became interested in this cultural monument after massive stone walls and T-shaped columns covered with drawings were found in the 1990s.

It is assumed that total number temples in Gebekli Tepe should reach 20. Each of the buildings probably marked the ascent of Sirius in the sky at different times.

For the first time, the star Sirius appeared in the earth's sky about 11,300 thousand years ago. In terms of brightness, it ranks fourth right after the Moon, Venus and Jupiter, so it probably made an indelible impression on a person of the early Neolithic era.

Let's explore it in more detail ...

Photo 2.

Klaus Schmidt, assistant professor at the German Archaeological Institute in Berlin, is engaged in the study of the ancient history of mankind. When Schmidt began excavations at Gobekli Tepe in 1994, he was confident that these excavations would become the main business of his life. Archaeological complex in this area can be compared with Stonehenge in England, with the only difference that the ruins in Anatolia are 6 thousand years older.

As a child, Klaus Schmidt did not crawl out of the caves in his native Germany, hoping to find prehistoric drawings there. Thirty years later, already representing the German Archaeological Institute, he discovered something infinitely more important - a temple complex, almost twice as old as all similar structures on the planet.

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“This place is a supernova,” says Schmidt, standing under a lone tree on a windswept hill 55 kilometers north of Turkey's border with Syria. “Already in the first minute after its discovery, I knew that I had two ways: either to leave here without saying a word to anyone, or to spend the rest of my life here, at these excavations.”

Photo 4.

Behind him, the first bends of the Anatolian plateau open up. Hundreds of miles ahead to Baghdad and further south is the Mesopotamian Plain, like a sea of ​​dust. Directly ahead, hidden behind a ledge of a hill, are the stone circles of Gobekli Tepe. In those days, when people did not yet build permanent dwellings for themselves, did not know how to make the simplest clay bowl, and hunted and gathered for food, the inhabitants of Southeastern Anatolia erected a monumental sanctuary for their gods.

Photo 5.

Compared to Stonehenge - the most famous prehistoric monument in Great Britain - they are not impressive in scale. None of the excavated circular structures (and there are this moment there are four out of twenty) does not exceed 30 meters in diameter. What makes these finds completely unique is the carved images of wild boars, foxes, lions, birds, snakes and scorpions, as well as the age of the finds themselves. They were created in 9.5 thousand years BC. They are 5.5 thousand years old older than the first cities of Mesopotamia and for 7 thousand years - Stonehenge.

Photo 6.

In Gobekli Tepe, archaeologists have discovered on a hill a gigantic complex of round buildings and stone pillars with carved reliefs. Currently, only a small part of the buildings have been excavated, but if you take into account the age of the ruins, it immediately becomes clear that this is a unique archaeological site.

Photo 7.

The ancient ruins of Nevali-Keri, which have been at the bottom of the Ataturk reservoir since 1992, are almost as old as Gobekli Tepe, their age is 10,500 years. But the pillars are much smaller, and the decoration is more modest. With the temples of Gobekli Tepe can compete at the age of Jericho, but there are no large sculptures, no architectural decorations. All other ancient archaeological sites belong to a different era - they arose about 2 thousand years later. The people who created these rounded monuments and stone bas-reliefs, this whole complex, did not even have pottery and did not grow cereals. They lived in settlements. But they were hunters, not farmers.

Photo 8.

Judging by the age of the Gobekli-Tepe complex, it was in this area that hunters and gatherers switched to a sedentary lifestyle. In Gobekli Tepe, first of all, they amaze intellectual abilities people of the Stone Age, their hard work and knowledge of the construction business. But until now, scientists were convinced that the implementation of such gigantic projects as the construction of a temple presupposes a sedentary lifestyle and high degree organizations.

“It has always been assumed that only complex societies with a hierarchical structure could build such monumental structures, and that they only appeared with the advent of tillage,” says Ian Hodder, professor of anthropology at Stanford University, who has led the excavation since 1993. in Chatal Hoyuk - the most famous of the Neolithic settlements in Turkey. - Gobekli turned all representations. This is a complex structure and dates back to the era before the birth of agriculture. This fact alone makes him one of the most important archaeological finds over a very long period of time. "

Photo 9.

The archaeological site at Gobekli Tepe was first surveyed in 1963. However, then archaeologists underestimated its significance, and long time they did not work there at all. On the hill, in the thickness of which the temple complex is located, there was a field of oats. The peasants now and then removed from the fields the bulky stones that interfered with them, so that top part the temple was destroyed before scientists examined it.

Based on the excavated areas, we can conclude that people stayed here for a very long time. Several smaller buildings were found near the circular building of the sanctuary, in which, apparently, some kind of ritual gatherings were held. But in all these buildings there is no the slightest sign human habitation.

Excavations have been going on for ten years. As a result, so far only a small part has been cleared, but the purpose of Gobekli Tepe for the people who built it remains unclear. Some believe that this place was intended for fertility rituals, and two tall stone in the center of each circle symbolize a man and a woman.

Photo 10.

But Schmidt is skeptical about the theory of fertility. He shares the opinion that Gobekli Tepe could have been "the last flourishing of a semi-nomadic society, which was about to be destroyed by the coming age of agriculture." He points out that if today this place has been preserved almost in perfect condition, then only because its builders soon buried their creation under tons of earth, as if their world, rich in wild animals, had lost all its significance.

“From my point of view, the people who carved them were asking the greatest questions of all,” the scientist continues. - What is the universe? Why are we here? " But it lacks the fertility symbols found in other Neolithic excavations, and the T-pillars, while clearly semi-human, are asexual. “I think we ran into the earliest depictions of the gods here,” Schmidt says, stroking one of the largest boulders with his hand. “They have no eyes, no mouths, no faces. But they have hands and they have palms. These are the creators. "

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Perhaps the most interesting thing in Gobekli Tepe is his the last days... The buildings are undoubtedly filled up, and this explains their good preservation. All ancient religious buildings were simply abandoned, abandoned, but the temple on the Anatolian hill was literally buried in the ground. A massive building with monolithic giant pillars covered with magnificent reliefs, filled to the brim with stones and soil, so that it literally disappeared underground.

Photo 12.

Although archaeologists have freed only a part of Gobekli Tepe from under the embankment, already now it is possible to estimate unusually big sizes sanctuaries. It consists of four different temples, surrounded by a low stone fence. Particularly interesting are the T-shaped monoliths with partially preserved reliefs. They depict birds, gazelles, bulls in a very naturalistic way. Next to the image of a donkey and a snake, you can distinguish the head of a fox. There are even spiders and a three-dimensional wild boar with a frowning blunt muzzle.

What the builders of the temple gave great importance the animal world is not surprising in itself. But they portrayed wild animals, and this confirms the assumption that the creators of the sanctuary were not sedentary farmers. Another thing is interesting: in the vicinity of Gobekli Tepe, all kinds of wild-growing cereals are presented, which were later cultivated as cereals.

Photo 13.

Perhaps Gobekli Tepe is the same missing link in a chain - a connecting element between primitive nomadic hunter-gatherers and sedentary farmers. The production of monolithic stone pillars with reliefs requires certain professional skills - for this, masons are needed. This means that other people supplied artisans-stonecutters with everything necessary for life, that is, they had a society based on the division of labor.

Photo 14.

Some of the pillars have pictograms. Some archaeologists speculate that these icons may have influenced systems of signs that arose at a later time, but it is difficult to trace whether there is a connection between them. Hieroglyphs were not common in neighboring Mesopotamia, but in Ancient egypt, that is, far from Gobekli Tepe. In addition, the time interval between Ancient Egypt and the Gobekli Tepe culture is very long.

Photo 15.

The end of the Gobekli Tepe sanctuary fell on the beginning of the 8th millennium BC. At this time, agriculture spread to neighboring Mesopotamia. The soil in the vicinity of Gobekli Tepe is scarce, perhaps for this reason the sanctuary has lost its significance. The most important centers were formed much further south, on fertile plains, in river valleys. By at least, this can partly explain why people left the temple, where for hundreds of years their ancestors worshiped the gods. They covered the sanctuary with stones and left there forever.

The lessons of Gobekli Tepe encourage us to reconsider the idea of ​​the so-called Neolithic revolution. Until now, historians thought that the transition of nomadic tribes to a sedentary lifestyle created the preconditions for the construction of large urban centers and huge temples. But the experience of Gobekli Tepe proves that, in all likelihood, it was just the opposite: the very existence of the grandiose sanctuary, where the main rituals took place, prompted people not to move away from it, but to stay close to the holy place and make permanent dwellings for themselves. This means that at first there was a temple, and then there was a house, a village and a city.

Photo 16.

The riddle of Gebekli Tepe is no less amazing than the secrets of the pyramids, but much older. Scientists can only assume that it was a ritual structure, but it is not known for certain what made the ancient people come together and build such a truly colossal structure.

A wide variety of assumptions are popping up among researchers and enthusiasts, from mundane to incredible. Some believe that Gebekli Tepe was not a temple, but only a place where people lived, while others put forward ideas about the intervention of alien races in the history of the Earth and the construction of this complex by aliens. There are opinions that Gebekli Tepe was the Garden of Eden or the prototype of Noah's ark.

RUSSIAN HISTORIAN GENNADY KLIMOV CONSIDERS that Gebekli-Tepe and similar buildings on the territory of Russia were erected by the same race. He confirms his theory with the fact that in the 9th millennium BC. there was no Black Sea yet, and the way from the Russian glacial steppes to these lands was free.

We are accustomed to the idea that agriculture first appeared, and then settlements, but Gebekli Tepe in this matter globally changes our understanding of ancient people. Scientists have established that for the construction of such a monumental structure, at least 500 people had to be gathered at the same time. That is, all these people lived together.

Photo 17.

Scientists suggest that it was the construction of this temple that played important role in the process of moving to agriculture, and hence to the emergence of civilization in our usual view. As soon as the ancient people gathered together, began to live in one point, it became difficult to feed so many workers and pilgrims. And perhaps this is what prompted them to domesticate wild plants and animals.

All conclusions regarding the Gebekli Tepe temple complex are preliminary, since excavations are being carried out only on 5% of its territory. Archaeologists believe that research will continue for about 50 more years. The dating of the investigated part dates the end of layer III to the 9th millennium BC. e., and its beginning - to the XI millennium BC. NS. or earlier. Layer II refers to the VIII-IX millennia BC. NS.

Photo 18.

Since the complex appeared even before the Neolithic revolution, the origin in this region agriculture and cattle breeding should, apparently, be attributed to the era after the 9th millennium BC. NS. At the same time, the construction of such a grandiose structure required efforts. a large number people and a certain social organization... This is not typical for the Mesolithic. According to rough estimates, for the manufacture and delivery of columns weighing 10-20 tons from the quarry to the building, which are separated by up to 500 m, in the absence of draft animals, efforts of up to 500 people were required.

In fact, some of the columns weigh up to 50 tons, so even more people were needed. It is even suggested that slave labor was used in such jobs, which is also uncharacteristic for hunter-gatherer communities. Such work required a systematic effort and a social hierarchy in which many people were subordinate to one religious or military leader, and the religious leader then had to oversee the performance of the rituals. In this case, the very existence of the temple complex in such a distant historical era indicates social stratification into very early stage development of the Neolithic culture.

Publications in the Architecture section

The oldest buildings in Russia

From Derbent to Vyborg, from Kaliningrad to the Bashkir village of Chishmy. We look into the depths of history and study together with Sofya Bagdasarova which buildings in Russia are breaking age records.

The most ancient buildings

The most ancient buildings erected by man are, undoubtedly, megalithic structures(menhirs, dolmens and cromlechs). The British Stonehenge is best known, however, a considerable number of such structures have survived on the territory of Russia. It is impossible to choose the most ancient of them, it is too wide chronological framework, and there are no exact dates. The most famous are the dolmens of the Kuban and the Caucasus, created in the 3rd or 2nd millennia BC. NS. But you can find them in Northern Russia(for example, on Solovki), and in Siberia.

The oldest Christian churches

The oldest churches in Russia were built in the Byzantine era, even before the Great split of Christianity into Orthodoxy and Catholicism in 1054. They are located in the Black Sea basin, which was ruled by Byzantium. The first of them is the Crimean Church of John the Baptist in Kerch - ancient city Panticapaeum, founded in the 7th century BC. e., later - Byzantine possession. This temple, erected by the Byzantines, stood at least as early as 757 AD. NS.

Younger and more provincial in terms of architecture are the temples of the Alanian state, which adopted Christianity in 916 (now Karachay-Cherkessia). These are the Shoanin temple (1st half of the 10th century), the Sentin temple (967) and three Zelenchuk temples - Nicholas the Wonderworker (916-925), Elijah the Prophet (10th century) and the Life-Giving Trinity (10th century). They are included in the.

The oldest Islamic buildings

The oldest Islamic religious building rises in the same southern edge. Juma Mosque stands in Derbent - an important fortress of the Armenian Emirate Arab Caliphate(modern Dagestan). It was built in the years 733-734.

Islamic architects have built other types of buildings, but due to poor preservation, researchers sometimes wonder what they were intended for. Such is the mausoleum of Tura Khan, which, perhaps, was not a tomb, but a courtroom. It was built in the XIV-XV centuries (and maybe in the XII century) near the village of Chishmy in Bashkortostan. Near the town of Bolgar in Tatarstan there is a historical and archaeological complex "Bulgar" - former town Bulgar ulus of the Golden Horde. On its territory there are many attractions, including the mysterious Black Chamber (XIV century): either a mausoleum, or a resting place for dervishes. Other buildings of the Bulgar also belong to that era.

The oldest old Russian church

The most ancient temples Ancient Rus remained on the lands of Ukraine and Belarus. Thus, the oldest church of this medieval state in the territory modern Russia turned out to be the Cathedral of St. Sophia in Novgorod, founded in 1045 and completed five years later.

But the oldest church in Moscow dates back to the post-Mongol period - it is the Savior Cathedral of the Andronikov Monastery of the Savior (1420–1425), now the Andrei Rublev Museum.

Petersburg is the same old church- Peter and Paul Cathedral, erected in stone in 1712.

Oldest Catholic Church

The oldest catholic cathedral within the territory of Russian Federation is, apparently, Gothic, built in 1288 in the East Prussian Königsberg (modern Kaliningrad). She is, most likely, the oldest Lutheran church, since her, like others catholic churches in those lands, in the 16th century, were taken by the Protestants. Today within its walls is located Orthodox community, and the building bears the name of St. Nicholas Church.

The oldest defensive structures

The most ancient fortress building, perhaps, is the Crimean Zeno Tower in the ancient Chersonesos, which began to be built in the II century BC. NS. during the struggle of this polis with the Scythians. She was rebuilt several times - last time in the 10th century. Although today the tower is almost in ruins, its power is still impressive.

In the same X century, in the Volga Bulgaria (now Tatarstan), another fortress tower was erected, which can be seen in the Devil's settlement (Elabuga Museum-Reserve). Its modern appearance is the result of reconstruction; the original masonry has survived only on one side.

And in the north of the country there are fortresses founded by eternal enemies - Novgorodians, Livonian knights and Swedish military. These are the stone Novgorod Detinets (1333), the Pskov "Percy" Krom (1393), the Koporskaya fortress (1237) and

It is generally accepted that the Ancient World is a set of civilizations that existed on earth from prehistoric times to the beginning of the Middle Ages. The framework is very conditional - for they are their own, for America - their own (the beginning of the colonization of the continent by Europeans).

Amazing legacy

During this time period, there were several civilizations with their own culture. Famous buildings and buildings of antiquity have survived to this day. There are not so few of them, but the most striking heritage sites of the past include such as the "City in the Sky" or Machu Picchu in Peru, the Baalbek Temple of Jupiter in Lebanon, the famous Egyptian pyramids Giza, a suburb of Cairo. The list of antiquities includes the aqueducts of the Roman Empire, the glazed windows of Alexandria that appeared in the first century AD, the remains of Greek temples, the Jervan aqueduct in Iraq, and the concrete domes of Roman temples.

Civilizations close to us

There are always ancient sites on every continent. But for the inhabitants of Europe (in the geographical sense of the word), the ancient world is associated primarily with Greece and Rome, with the Egyptian Cleopatra, since both Julius Caesar and Antony loved her.

In addition, they and other ancient Roman emperors dreamed of enslaving Egypt. Russian literature and art up to the beginning of the 20th century are associated with the myths of Greece and Rome. And the Mediterranean civilizations are considered the cradle of humanity. Therefore, to consider in more detail the famous buildings and buildings of antiquity, you need to start with Greece and Rome.

Acropolis - a pearl of world architecture

There are a lot of monuments from prehistoric times in Greece, and the whole country is dotted with the ruins of ancient Greek palaces and places of worship. It is rather difficult to count them, but there are objects that are considered symbols of the Ancient World. The most important of them is the Acropolis, located in the mainland in the city of Athens. This is a kind of fortress, standing on a hill, the height of which reaches 156 meters in height, it is 300 meters in width, and 170 in length. It is a well-fortified upper city, towering over the unprotected lower one. The Acropolis was the place where the temples of the gods, patrons of this city, the inhabitants could hide in it during the war. The majestic Athenian Acropolis is its well-studied history.

Parthenon - the dominant of the Acropolis

It should be noted that sculptures and statues from this Acropolis are in many museums around the world. It houses 21 objects, the most significant of which is the Parthenon - business card not only Greece, but the entire ancient world.

Included in the list of "The Greatest Temples in the World", it was built on the foundation of more ancient temple in the 5th century BC by the architects Kallikrates and Iktin. He dominates the entire area. It is an ideal, harmonious structure rich in unique features. But dozens of books have been written about each of its smallest details. The only thing that can be noted is that it is all surrounded by columns around the perimeter (this form is called peripter). This is what makes the temple irresistibly beautiful.

Athens - a treasure trove of ancient architecture

Other structures Ancient Greece on the territory of the sacred center of the Acropolis are represented by such temples as the Erechtheion, dedicated to the legendary Athenian king Erechtheus, the Areopagus (authority), the temple of Athena-Nike. Throughout the entire capital, there are ruins of many other temples, since all of Greece is a museum ancient culture under open air... These are the temples of Olympian Zeus, Nika Aptera, Apollo at Delphi, Poseidon at Cape Sounion, Hera on the Peloponnese peninsula, Demeter at Eleusis. These are the most famous buildings and structures of antiquity, created in Greece.

Priority of places of worship

In more late period In Athens, one of the first meteorological structures was built - the Tower of the Winds, 12 meters high, with a base diameter of 8 meters. The parameters of these ancient museums are perfect, they lie at the basis of all architecture and are studied by all the architects of the world.

Of all the above objects of antiquity, only the Areopagus is administrative building, all the rest are religious buildings. The largest sanctuary is Olympia, which is located on the Peloponnese peninsula. It was dominated by the cult of Zeus.

The main business card of Rome

The Great Roman Empire is the oldest civilization in the Mediterranean, originating from Ancient Greece. According to legend, the direct descendants of Aeneas, the hero of the Trojan War, the brothers Rem and Romulus, fed by a she-wolf, founded Rome and greatest empire that gave the world a great culture.

The structures of ancient Rome in this article are presented by 10 of the greatest architectural examples, with which many inhabitants of the Earth, even those far from scholarship, are familiar. Who doesn't know the Colosseum - main character Rome? A half-ruined outer three-tiered wall surrounds an oval arena. In ancient times, the total number of arches on the wall was 240, 80 of them are in the lower tier. In the arches of the first and second floors there were sculptures - works the best masters Rome.

The brightest and most characteristic

The Appian Way is also familiar to many, because they know about the sad death of Spartak's companions, chained alive to the pillars along it, from school. And the final shots of the cult American film touched film lovers in many countries of the world.

The famous buildings and structures of antiquity, located in the ancient capital, are worthy of the Roman Forum, which already during the reign of Tarquicius the Proud became the center of political, cultural and religious life Roman Empire. Here are the temples of Vesta, Vespasian and Saturn. Tragic or happy pages are associated with each of them. ancient history... The well-preserved Trajan Column dates back to the beginning of the 2nd century AD. 185 steps located inside open onto observation deck located at the 38th height. The sculptor Apollodorus of Damascus erected it in 114. She symbolizes the victory over the Dacians.

Next on the list

The Roman Pantheon is unique - the temple of all the gods. Built in 126 AD, it dominates the Piazza della Rotonda.

How the famous buildings and buildings of antiquity looked like, you can find out by looking at the marble Arc de Triomphe Titus. Erected it oldest building in 81 in honor of the capture of Jerusalem. An arch rises above Via Sacra. Single-span, it has a height of 15.4 meters, a width of 13.5 m, a span of about 5 meters, and a width of 5.33 meters. Any chariot, including a quadriga, could enter such a gate. Preserved bas-reliefs depicting Titus with trophies. The Jewish temple was destroyed by him to the ground, and the victors got his main shrine - the minor. All this can be seen on the bas-relief.

Famous Roman Baths and Unique Temples

The list of masterpieces of ancient Roman architecture continues. Where did this name come from? Caracalla is the nickname of someone who lived in the 3rd century AD. Ancient Roman baths are a special world where the elite of society enjoyed themselves, went in for sports, waged intellectual disputes, and concluded contracts. The entourage corresponded: the walls and the actual font were made of the best varieties marble, sculptures were everywhere, including the statue of Apollo Belvedere.

The seventh line in the list " Architectural structures Ancient rome”Occupies a composition of two temples of different configurations - rectangular and round. These temples were erected in honor of Portun (patron saint of ports) and Hercules. They are located on the left bank of the Tiber, in the very place where ships used to dock.

Mausoleum and catacombs

The eighth number is the Field of Mars - the left-bank part of Rome. Behind him is the Mausoleum of Hadrian - an architectural monument-tomb for imperial family... On a square pedestal with a side equal to 84 meters, there is a cylinder with a diameter of 64 meters, crowned with a statue of the emperor in the image of the sun god, driving a quadriga (team of 4 horses). This huge structure was not used for its intended purpose; it became a strategic facility.

The last in the list of the most important architectural masterpieces of the Roman Empire are the famous Catacombs. This is a network of structures (60 in total), interconnected and intended for burials (about 750,000 burials), with a total length of 170 km. Most of of them stretches along the Appian Way.

Masterpieces of the East

The greats of the world are worthy of complementing another grandiose monument. This is Great Chinese Wall, the length of which from edge to edge is equal to 21,196 kilometers. Erected by one-fifth (exactly one million) of the country's population in the 3rd century BC, it clearly fixed the borders of the state and made China impregnable. This is a unique monument of antiquity. And the pagodas and Buddhist monasteries India? After all, these are also monuments of the ancient past.

The first Russian architectural gems

All of the above, like the structures of Ancient Russia, belongs to the great world heritage. Only our civilization is young in comparison with others. The most ancient architecture in our country is considered the architecture of Novgorod, Pskov and Kiev, in which from 989 to 996 the Church of the Tithes was erected, destroyed by Batu.

The next oldest architectural monument by our standards Kievan Rus is the Transfiguration Cathedral in Chernigov, well preserved even now, then St. Sophia Cathedral in Kiev. The first cross-domed structures were always based on a cross, and the temple was crowned with a dome. Such churches are the main type of ancient religious buildings in Russia.

Byzantine masters and their offspring

The first stone churches were built by masters invited from Byzantium. Russian religious buildings did not blindly repeat Byzantine architecture. Our churches have bright personality... Yaroslav the Wise was actively and on a grand scale engaged in construction. He, concerned about the fact that a huge country has just accepted new religion, wanted to approve it grandiose construction temples. The largest, which at that time had no analogues anywhere, even in Byzantium, was the 5-nave 13-domed one, laid down in 1017.

Triumph of Orthodoxy

It was followed by the Cathedrals of Sofia in Novgorod (1045-1050) and Polotsk (1060). They were also considered 5-aisled, although most Russian churches are 3-naves. The dome was supported by internal pillars - hence the names: 4-, 6-, or even 8-pillars.

The Assumption Cathedral was built by specially invited Greeks in 1073-1079 Kiev Pechersk Lavra... This temple, called the "Great Church", has become a model for Orthodox buildings under construction throughout the country. Such religious buildings as the Vydubetsky monastery in Kiev (1070-1081), Savior-on-Berest (1113-1125) belong to a new type of cathedrals, since they all had an extension (narthex) with a staircase. The most ancient temples had no vestibules at all.

Since the construction boom launched by Yaroslav the Wise, all the Grand Dukes have been actively involved in urban planning. In addition to architectural monuments, masterpieces remained for descendants applied arts and literature. The Tale of Bygone Years was first mentioned in 852.

According to experts, structures of architecture appeared long before our era. The ancient structures preserved on our planet are amazing, they amaze the imagination. Find out which buildings are the oldest in the world. the ancient world are completely different from the buildings of modern architecture.

Legendary buildings of the ancient world

Who built oldest buildings, for what purpose, and by what technology, how they have survived to this day - all these questions arise when you see the buildings of the ancient world. Read more about the most interesting buildings that period.

Temple of Queen Hatshepsut (Egypt)

By product ancient architecture The Temple of Queen Hatshepsut, which has survived to this day, is in excellent condition. He is in Egypt. The year of construction is not known for certain, presumably one thousand four hundred and seventy-third year BC. NS. Even now we can say that the architect who created the temple is a genius.

Dungeon of Mamertine (Rome)

The Mamertine dungeon was erected in Rome near the Capitoline Hill even BC. NS. - in the five hundred and seventy-eighth year. Criminals were kept there, and many of them were innocent. It was in this prison that Saints Peter and Paul ended their lives.

Josser's pyramid at Sakara

In two thousand six hundred and fiftieth year BC. NS. in Egypt, the architect Imhotep built the Josser pyramid. As you know, this is the oldest pyramid in Egypt and one of the most ancient structures in the world. Its height is sixty two meters.

Greater Zimbabwe

V South Africa the oldest and at the same time the largest building is considered Greater Zimbabwe. This building appeared in the eleventh century, its population was at least eighteen thousand people. Scientists do not know why Great Zimbabwe was abandoned in the fifteenth century.

The height of the ancient ruins reaches eleven meters. All structures were erected by dry masonry - granite slabs were laid in rows. This is surprising since wood and clay were the standard materials in Africa during this period.

Settlement Skara Bray

Ten houses built on the territory of modern Scotland in two thousand five hundredth year BC. NS. - the oldest buildings in Europe. This settlement is named Skara Bray. It is located on the islands. All houses are perfectly preserved, thanks to which scientists have found out how the ancient people lived. According to the researchers, the dwellings were well equipped - they had water supply, heating, covered walkways.

The oldest buildings in Russia

There are many old buildings in Russia that have witnessed many historical events, survived a number of eras, but were able to survive to this day. Most of these buildings are churches and monasteries.

Transfiguration Cathedral (Pereyaslavl-Zalessky)

In one thousand one hundred and fifty-second year, Yuri Dolgoruky founded a church in the city of Pereyaslavl-Zalessky. Five years later, the construction was completed by Prince Andrey Bogolyubsky. This white-stone temple stands in the center of the city, having been its adornment for more than eight hundred years.

Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery (Pskov)

In the middle of the twelfth century, in Pskov, at the place where the Mirozhka and Velikaya rivers merge, male monastery... It was named the Holy Transfiguration Mirozh Monastery. There are always many pilgrims in the cathedral. They are attracted by the unique pre-Mongol frescoes preserved there.

Dormition Knyaginin monastery

At the very beginning of the thirteenth century, a monastery was erected in Vladimir. Its founder is Prince Vsevolod Big Nest... The Knyagin's monastery got its name because the wife of the prince Maria Shvarnovna insisted on its construction. The princess's monastery was rebuilt several times, survived the ruin, the years of the invasion of the Mongol-Tatars, but survived.

Church of Boris and Gleb (Kideksha village)

Near the city of Suzdal, in the village of Kideksha, there is an ancient church, protected by UNESCO. The year of its construction is one thousand one hundred and fifty-second. The monument of white-stone architecture was built by Yuri Dolgoruky. Now the church is part of the Vladimir-Suzdal Museum-Reserve.

The oldest surviving building in the world

The oldest building in the world is located in the Bougonne necropolis, which was discovered in France on the banks of the Bougonne River in the first half of the nineteenth century. Extensive excavations were carried out there in the late sixties of the last century.

The necropolis is made up of five megalithic burial mounds dating back to the Neolithic era. As a result of excavations, it turned out that the oldest building of this complex was built in four thousand eight hundredth year BC. NS.

And the most Old city in Russia it is Derbent. The site has a detailed website and their stories.
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