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Ancient Mysteries
The many achievements of the ancient Egyptians included a system of mathematics, quarrying, surveying and construction techniques that facilitated the building of monumental pyramids, temples and obelisks, faience and glass technology, a practical and effective system of medicine, new forms of literature, irrigation systems and agricultural production techniques, and the earliest known peace treaty. |
The Forbidden City or Forbidden Palace, located at the exact center of the ancient City of Beijing, was the imperial palace during the mid-Ming and the Qing dynasties, it is listed by UNESCO as the largest collection of preserved ancient wooden structures in the World, and was declared a World Heritage Site in 1987. |
Stonehenge is a Neolithic and Bronze Age monument located near Amesbury in the English county of Wiltshire, it is composed of earthworks surrounding a circular setting of large standing stones, known as megaliths. Most archaeologists think that it was mainly constructed between 2500 BC and 2000 BC. |
Angkor Wat / Angkor temple, was created under Suryavarman II (r. 1113-50). Planned as a sepulcher and a monument to the divinity of the monarch and measuring about 1 sq mi (2.6 sq km), it is probably the largest religious structure in the world. The temples of Angkor display a coherent set of architectural and decorative elements. Most of the temples are based on the concept of the "temple mountain". |
Petra (from "petrus", rock in Greek) is an archaeological site in Jordan, lying in a basin among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Wadi Araba, the great valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. The descriptions of Strabo, Pliny the Elder, and other writers identify Petra as the capital of the Nabataeans and the center of their caravan trade. |
The Aztecs were a Mesoamerican people of central Mexico in the 14th, 15th and 16th century. They were a civilization with a rich mythology and cultural heritage. Their capital was Tenochtitlan on the shore of Lake Texcoco - the site of modern-day Mexico City. |
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In Judaism and Christianity, the ornate, gold-plated wooden chest that in biblical times housed the two tablets of the Law given to Moses by God.
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The Jewish and Christian Bibles are actually collections of what were originally a number of independent books. The overwhelming majority of Christians refer to the Bible as the combination of Hebrew Scripture, known to Christians as the Old Testament or First Testament, and the New Testament, which describes the life and message of Jesus.
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"Chichen" contains many fine stone buildings in various states of preservation; the buildings were formerly used as temples, palaces, stages, markets, baths, and ballcourts.
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The writings date from between the 3rd century BC and the 2nd century AD and total 800-900 manuscripts in 15,000 fragments. Many scholars believe that those deposited in 11 caves near the ruins of Qumran belonged to a sectarian community whom most scholars believe were Essenes, though other scholars suggest Sadducees or Zealots.
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Easter Island (Polynesian: Rapa Nui ("Great Rapa"), Spanish: Isla de Pascua) is an island in the south Pacific Ocean belonging to Chile. The island is famous for its numerous moais, 400-year-old stone statues now located along the coastlines.
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The Forbidden City or Forbidden Palace (literally "Purple Forbidden City"), located at the exact center of the ancient City of Beijing, was the imperial palace during the mid-Ming and the Qing dynasties. Known now as the Palace Museum.
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The Inca Empire (called Tawantinsuyu in modern spelling Aymara and Quechua, or Tahuantinsuyu in old spelling Quechua, which means Land of the Four Corners), was an empire located in South America from 1438 CE to 1533 CE. Over that period, the Inca used conquest and peaceful assimilation to incorporate in their empire a large portion of western South America, centred on the Andean mountain ranges.
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The Templars were an unusual order in that they were both monks and soldiers, making them in effect some of the earliest "warrior monks" in the Western world. Members of the Order played a key part in many battles of the Crusades, and the Order's infrastructure innovated many financial techniques that could be considered the foundation of modern banking.
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Machu Picchu (literally means "old peak"; sometimes called the "Lost City of the Incas") is a well-preserved pre-Columbian Inca ruin located on a high mountain ridge, at an elevation of about 7,710 feet (2,350 m). The site is probably the most familiar symbol of the Inca Empire, due to its unique location, its geological features, and its late discovery in 1911. In recent times the site has been designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site and has been the subject of concerns about the damage of tourism.
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The Maya are probably the best-known of the classical civilizations of Mesoamerica. Originating in the Yucatán around 2600 B.C., they rose to prominence around A.D. 250 in present-day southern Mexico, Guatemala, northern Belize and western Honduras. Building on the inherited inventions and ideas of earlier civilizations such as the Olmec, the Maya developed astronomy, calendrical systems and hieroglyphic writing.
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Mummies formed as a result of naturally occurring environmental conditions, such as extreme cold (Ötzi the Iceman), acid (Tollund Man) or desiccating dryness have been found all over the world.
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In the Hebrew Bible's account (Gen. 6-9) of a Deluge (and the elaborations surrounding it in the various Abrahamic traditions), Noah's ark is a boat Noah built at God's command to keep Noah, his family, and a core breeding stock of the world's animals safe.
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