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The ancient city of Olbia, which suffered heavily when the Vandals occupied parts of northern Africa in the second half of the fifth and first quarter of the sixth century, was refounded in 539 by the Byzantine emperor Justinian, and renamed after his wife Theodora, who had spent her youth in nearby Apollonia: Theodorias. (This photo shows a bust of the empress, now in Milan; it is not the original but a cast in the Römisch-Germanisches Zentralmuseum in Mainz.) The new city has been partly excavated, and two churches have been identified, which have become famous for the splendid mosaics. Compared to the official imperial art with its gold and lapis lazuli, they are a bit coarse, but they are lively and very colorful. On this page, you will find photos of the floor mosaic of the Eastern Church.
This is what the Eastern Church looks like today. The entire floor was covered by fifty small mosaics (the square holes in the floor), with a total size of 10½ x 6 m. They represent the founding of the city. The fifty mosaics were removed from the floor and transferred to the museum opposite the West Church. There was a second mosaic in the room to the left, which will be discussed below.
The site of Palmyra is an oasis in the Syrian desert, north-east of Damascus, it contains the monumental ruins of a great city that was one of the most important cultural centres of the ancient world, Palmyra mixed Graeco-Roman techniques with local traditions and Persian influences, it was listed UNESCO World Heritage in 1980
© Eric Lafforgue
From your left, can you see the ladder where people get down from the cavates ( cliff rooms that were dug out of volcanic tuff). en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bandelier_National_Monument
This light house of Alexandria was one of the useful wonders among all the seven wonders of the world (for the sailors to return to the Great Harbor). This is a small point that differentiates it from the rest of the wonders of the world. The mirror which was mounted on this lighthouse could reflect the light more than 35 miles off-shore. Of the 6 ancient destroyed wonders, this was the last to be destroyed around 1480 AD.
Location:
On the ancient island of Pharos, now a promontory on the harbor of the city of Alexandria in Egypt.
Description:
This lighthouse was built around 280 BC and was around 134 m in height. This was built in the city of Alexandria.
The light house had a good mirror which can reflect the sun light to a very long distance. Mythical stories used to say that this mirror was used to burn the enemy ships.
The Macedonian conqueror, Alexander during his successful reign, had tried establishing approximately 17 cities in the name of Alexandria. The only one survived long was the one in Egypt. That too even this city was not completely built by Alexander. The completion of the construction of this city was achieved by his commander Ptolemy I Soter.
Ptolemy connected Alexandria to the Pharos island by a bridge. It was realized that the sailing in this coastal region is very dangerous. That is why he decided to build a light house. This project was initiated during Ptolemy's reign in 290 BC and completed after his death by his son Ptolemy Philadelphus. Sostratus who lived in the same time as Euclid, was the architect. This used to remain in the harbor for centuries. This wonder of the world also depicted in the Roman coins that time.
The writings of the Arab conquerors are very good source of information about this lighthouse. The new rulers moved the capital to the Cairo. So this place had lost its importance. Three earthquakes stuck in various periods (around AD 956, AD 1303 and AD 1323 ) have damaged the lighthouse significantly. The during AD 1480 the Egyptian Mamelouk Sultan, has built a medieval fort at the same place. That was the end to the story of the light house.
There are some more tales to the light house. Sostratus after he completed the lighthouse wanted his name to be carved on the light house. This was not allowed by Ptolemy II Philadelphus. Ptolemy II wanted his name to be carved on the structure. But what Sostratus did is he first carved his name underneath, put plasters on it and then carved Ptolemy II's name. After some years, the plasters worn out and his name has come out to be known to all.
The design of the lighthouse was unlike the modern slim lighthouse towers. This was built in 3 stages, each built on top of the lower.
This lighthouse was so popular that the word Pharos came into French, Spanish and Italian to mean lighthouse.
No outono de 1994, um time de arqueológicos mergulhadores submergiram sob as águas de Alexandria, Egito. Trabalhando abaixo da superfície, eles procuravam no fundo do oceano por artefatos. Grandes blocos de pedra submersos foram marcados com mastros flutuantes, podendo então serem localizados por um Medidor Eletrônico de Distâncias, com suas exatas posições. Satélites globais foram usados para acertar as localizações. A informação então, alimentava os computadores para criar um detalhado banco de dados sobre o fundo marinho. Ironicamente, esses cientistas estavam usando uma das mais avançadas tecnologias existentes no final do século XX para tentar descobrir as ruinas de uma das mais avançadas construções do século III a.C. O Farol. O grande farol de Alexandria, uma das sete maravilhas do mundo.
História
A história do Farol começa com a fundação da cidade de Alexandria pelo conquistador macedônico, Alexandre o grande, em 332 a.C.. Alexandre fundou pelo menos 17 cidades chamadas Alexandria, em diferentes localizações do seu vasto domínio. A maioria delas desapareceu, mas Alexandria no Egito sobreviveu por séculos e continua, até mesmo nos dias atuais. Alexandre o Grande escolheu a localização de sua nova cidade muito cuidadosamente. Em vez de construí-la no delta do rio Nilo, ele escolheu um local, 20 milhas para o oeste, que o lodo e a lama carregados pelo rio, não bloqueariam o porto da cidade. No sul da cidade, era o Lago Mareotis. Depois de construído um canal ligando o lago ao Nilo, a cidade passou a ter dois portos : um para o tráfego no Rio Nilo, e o outro para as trocas, no Mar Mediterrâneo. Ambos permaneceriam, profundos e limpos. Alexandre morreu logo depois, em 323 a.C. e a cidade foi completmentada por Ptolomeu Soter, o novo líder do Egito. Sob o comando de Ptolomeu, a cidade se tornou rica e própera.
De qualquer jeito, a cidade precisava de um símbolo e de um mecanismo para guiar os navios comerciais no movimentado porto. Ptolomeu autorizou a construção do Farol em 290 a.C., e, quando foi completado 20 anos depois, era a primeira e a mais alta construção existente, com exceção da Grande Pirâmide. O designer do farol foi Sóstrates de Knidos. Orgulhoso de seu trabalho, ele desejava ter seu nome na fundação. Ptolomeu II, filho de Ptolomeu, recusou seu pedido, querendo que seu nome fosse o único a estar inscrito na construção. Homem inteligente, Sóstrates inscreveu o seguinte : "Sostrates filho de Dexifanes de Knidos em nome de todos os marinheiros para os deuses salvadores", e então cobriu com um gesso. E no gesso, ele escreveu o nome de Ptolomeu. Com o tempo, o gesso envelheceu e saiu, revelando a declaração de Sostrates. O farol foi construído sobre a ilha de Pharos, e logo adquiriu esse nome. A ligação do nome, com a função foi tão forte, que a palavra Pharos se tornou sinônimo de Lighthouse (em inglês), e nas línguas latinas, pegou significado próprio : Farol.
Existem duas descrições detalhadas do farol, feitas no século X d.C., feitas por viajantes de Moor, Idrisi e Yusuf Ibn al-Shaikh. De acordo com eles, tinha 300 cúbitos de altura, mas como essa medida variava de lugar pra lugar, pode-se dizer que o farol ficava entre 450 e 600 pés de altura. O desenho era diferente dos faróis modernos, e sua estrutura é bem parecida com a dos modernos arranhas-céu. Tinha 3 estágios, cada um construído sobre o topo do outro. Foi construído com blocos de mármore. O nível mais baixo tinha provavelmente mais de 200 pés de altura e 100 pés quadrados, no formado como uma caixa maciça. Dentro dessa seção, havia uma grande rampa em espiral que permitia que os materiais fossem para o topo carregados por cavalos. O topo dessa seção era uma torre de oito lados. No topo, havia um cilindro que se estendia para uma cúpula aberta onde o fogo que iluminava o farol era queimado. No telhado dessa cúpula, tinha uma enorme estátua de Poseidon. A porção mais baixa do prédio continha centenas armazéns. O interior das duas seções superiores tinha uma seta com um aparador que foi usado para transportar combustível até o fogo. A escadaria permitiam para visitas e para os guardiães, escalar até a câmara da baliza. Lá, de acordo com relatórios, um espelho encurvado grande, talvez feito de metal polido, foi usado para projetar a luz do fogo em uma viga. Foi dito que navios podiam perceber a luz à noite da torre ou a fumaça do fogo durante o dia até um-cem milhas fora. Há histórias de que este espelho poderia ser usado como uma arma para se concentrar o sol e jogar nos navios inimigos que se aproximaram. Outro conto diz que era possível usar o espelho para aumentar a imagem da cidade de Constantinopla quando vista do mar, e observar o que ia em lá, entretanto, ambas histórias parecem improváveis.
O farol era aparentemente uma atração turística. Foi vendida comida a visitas à plataforma de observação ao topo, do primeiro nível. Um sacada menor concedia uma visão do topo da torre de oito-lados para aqueles que quisessem fazer a subida adicional. A visão de lá deve ter sido impressionante : provavelmente estava a 300 pés sobre o mar. Haviam poucos no mundo antigo que pudessem (ou quisessem) ascender uma torre artificial para adquirir tal uma vista. Como foi derrubado o primeiro farol do mundo. no Mar mediterrâneo? A maioria das contas indica que, como muitos outros edifícios antigos, foi vítima de terremotos. Durou 1,500 anos mas foi danificado através de tremores em 365 e 1303 d.C. Relatórios indicam o colapso final entrou 1326. Também há um conto improvável que parte do farol foi demolida por sabotagem. Em 850 d.C. o Imperador de Constantinopla, um porto de rival, inventou um enredo inteligente para se livrar de Pharos. Ele espalhou rumores que enterraram debaixo do farol era um tesouro fabuloso. Quando o Califa de Cairo, que controlava Alexandria ouviu estes rumores, ele ordenou que a torre fosse ao chão para que se chegasse ao tesouro. Só era depois que o grande espelho foi destruído e o topo removido, o Califa percebeu que ele tinha sido enganado. Ele tentou reconstruir a torre, mas não pôde, assim ele se transformou em uma mesquita. Logicamente essa história faz companhia a várias outras que podem ou não ser verídicas.
Visitas em 1115 d.C. informou que Pharos estava intacta e ainda operando como um farol. Os mergulhadores acharam os restos de Pharos de fato no fundo do porto. Alguns dos blocos maiores de pedra achados certamente parecem ter vindo de um edifício grande. Foram localizadas estátuas que pode ter se levantado à base do Pharos. De maneira interessante, muito do material achado parece ser de eras mais cedo que o farol. Os cientistas especulam que eles podem ter sido reciclados na construção do Pharos, vindos de edifícios até mais velhos. Há projetos de se transformar este local em um parque arqueológico com um museu de farol. Em alguns anos talvez, venham visitantes capazes de alugar snorkle e mergulhar na baía entre os restos do grande farol de Pharos.
The site of Palmyra is an oasis in the Syrian desert, north-east of Damascus, it contains the monumental ruins of a great city that was one of the most important cultural centres of the ancient world, Palmyra mixed Graeco-Roman techniques with local traditions and Persian influences, it was listed UNESCO World Heritage in 1980
© Eric Lafforgue
Hanging Garden, Assyrian interpretation. note, the perspective not invented. In the front, under this image is a river (not represent or a matter of course in that time). In the left a pipe go the well tower, in the middle a water tower, in the right garden by many fruit trees on a slope by tree pointed vaults and irrigation (on a layer of asphalt). In the front of well tower is a image of the god of water, and on the pipe is a altar by points.
The ' always good one" - Egyptian god Osiris appears too under the name Wennefer.He is the oldest child of Geb and Nut.Representation a mummified man wearing the atef crown and holding the crook and the flail across his chest.Husband and brother of goddess Isis.Father of Horus.
The Lion of Babylon, large and splendidly carved in basalt, reminds us again that the lion was the symbol of the goddess Ishtar. In the sculpture, the lion's back has marks indicating that it was meant for a precious saddle upon which the goddess Ishtar would stand.
To the south of the Street of Processions is a major temple, the Esagila "The Lofty House", leading on to the site of the Stepped Tower of Babylon, which had eight levels rising to a height of 91 meters, on a square base also 91 meters square. The Street runs straight until the bridge across the Euphrates, which rested on bastions 9 meters thick each.
Another temple in the area is Nabushcari, recently dug up with painted murals, the largest temple of its time. And, as you cross the railway line to the city, you will see a rise, which originally was 18 m high with a palace built on it, which archaeologists call the summer palace of Nebuchadnezzar. In the upper parts of the back walls are ventilation apertures, which served the inner rooms and halls of the palace.
La Necrópolis de Giza se encuentra en la meseta de Giza, al oeste de la población homónima, a unos veinte kilómetros de El Cairo, Egipto. Comenzó a utilizarse durante la segunda dinastía, habiéndose encontrado cerámica fechada en el reinado de Nynecher. En ella se encuentran las famosas pirámides construidas por los faraones de la cuarta dinastía Jufu, Jafra y Menkaura (conocidos como Keops, Kefrén y Micerinos).
The Giza Necropolis stands on the Giza Plateau, on the outskirts of Cairo, Egypt. This complex of ancient monuments includes the three pyramids known as the Great Pyramids, along with the massive sculpture known as the Great Sphinx. It is located some 9 km (5 mi) inland into the desert from the old town of Giza on the Nile, some 25 km (15 mi) southwest of Cairo city centre. One of the iconic monuments, the Great Pyramid of Giza, is the only remaining monument of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.
One of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World is the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus (Bodrum ), built for the king Mausollos of Caria, that died 353 B.C. by his wife and sister Queen Artemisia. The description of the composition is preserved in Pliny's Natural History, where rough figures of the Mausoleum are described. When the Persians expanded their ancient kingdom to include Mesopotamia, Northern India, Syria, Egypt, and Asia Minor, the king could not control his vast empire without the help of local governors or rulers -- the Satraps. Like many other provinces, the kingdom of Caria in the western part of Asia Minor (Turkey) was so far from the Persian capital that it was practically autonomous. From 377 to 353 BC, king Mausollos of Caria reigned and moved his capital to Halicarnassus. Nothing is exciting about Maussollos life except the construction of his tomb. The project was conceived by his wife and sister Artemisia, and the construction might have started during the king's lifetime. The Mausoleum was completed around 350 BC, three years after Maussollos death, and one year after Artemisia's.
She hired the architect Pythius to design the building. She also hired the four famous sculptors, Scopas, Bryaxis, Leochares, and Timotheus. Each sculptor was responsible for one side of the building. The statue on top was created by Pythius, according to Pliny the Elder. Scholars believe that the Mausoleum was started before Mausollos' death in 353 BC.
The basic plan for the building was a large temple with a 24-step pyramid on top. The total height of the Mausoleum was 45m (140 ft). This was composed of the 32m (99 ft) base, 7m (22 ft) 24-step pyramid, and 6m (19 ft) statue of a chariot on top. Pliny the Elder said that the total periphery of the building was 440 feet. He also said that the North and South sides were 64 feet long. He also claimed that the other two sides were shorter, but if that was so then the sides would not add up to 440 feet. A Danish archaeological dig between 1966 and 1977 found that the Mausoleum was probably 100 feet by 120 feet. Pliny also wrote that there were 36 columns around the outside of the building.
Each side of the Mausoleum was decorated with friezes of battle scenes from the Greek war with the Amazons. There were also two other types of friezes. One showed a chariot race and the other showed a battle between Lapiths and centaurs. There also were free-standing sculptures around the outside of the building and on the top. Fragments of the statues and friezes can be seen in the British Museum !!!.
There have been many excavations done at the site of the Mausoleum. Charles Guichard wrote about workers discovering the burial chamber in 1522. He said that the sarcophagus was made out of alabaster, he also described bits of gold cloth that were left over from the burial. Sir Charles Newton excavated the site in 1856 - 1858. He discovered an Ionic capital, part of the chariot, and two larger-than-life-size statues. He speculated that the statues were of Mausollos and Artemisia. In 1966 - 1977 there was a Danish excavation that discovered the remains of an offering of food for Mausollos. They found whole sheep, goats, oxen, some chickens, doves, a goose, and a large amount of eggs.
The Mausoleum was destroyed between AD 1000 and AD 1400, probably by an earthquake. In 1494 the Knights of St. John of Malta built an immense castle during the crusades. This castle was built with blocks from the Mausoleum and the lime mortar was made out of burnt marble from some of the statues and columns. Today, that castle still exists and the parts from the Mausoleum are still visible.
Roadside hawker stalls in Cambodian countryside in Angkor Archaeological Park, near Siem Reap, Cambodia
Pingyao is located in China's Shanxi Province. During the Qing Dynasty, Pingyao was a financial center of China. It is renowned for its well-preserved ancient city wall and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It still retains its city layout from the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
Saddam Hussein, destinou cerca de 90 milhões de dólares, para reconstruir e restaurar a antiga Babilônia com os princípios de construção e os materiais da época.
Ishtar Gate, in a depression a little short way off the Street of Processions, still has some of its old wall decorations of bulls, symbol of Adad, god of storms, and dragons, symbol of Marduk, the chief god. The dragon here is a composite animal with the physical attributes of snake, lion and eagle. These brick relieves are not glazed, as the beautiful glazed-brick panels figuring bulls, and dragons and lions (symbol of Ishtar) which decorated the Gate, the Palace and the Street of Processions were all taken, prior to World War I, to Berlin by the German expedition which excavated Babylon then. Along the Street, on the left a brick column is seen, which may have had a statue standing on it.
Esta é a Porta de Babilônia, um das primeiras cidades na Terra e onde foram desenvolvidos um idioma escrito e um código de lei aproximadamente 3000 A.C. Ishtar é o deus babilônico de amor.
The striding lion of Babylon was made of molded brick with polychrome glaze and appeared along the side of the 'Processional Way' in ancient Babylon in 604-562 B.C. The 'Processional Way' led out of the city through the massive Ishtar Gate, the lion was the symbol of the goddess Ishtar. There were some 120 lions such as this one decorated along the walls. This painting is from a wall relief at the Oriental Institute, University of Chicago. It is 90.3 cm high and 230.5 cm wide. It was purchased in Berlin in 1931.
For I will rise up against them, says the LORD of hosts, And cut off from Babylon the name and remnant, And offspring and posterity, says the LORD. I will also make it a possession for the porcupine, And marshes of muddy water; I will sweep it with the broom of destruction, says the LORD of hosts. Isaiah 14:22-23
Egypt doesn’t have the monopoly on pyramids. The Sudan has many of them, and discovers new ones regularly. The most beautiful and impressive pyramids form the Meroe necropolis. After a few hours on a brand new road (the same trip required two days on trails last year), we arrive at an unimaginably beautiful site: an alignment of small pyramids in the desert, bathed in the hot red sun on orange sand. No busses on the car park, no tourist shops. It’s almost like being the French explorer Fréderic Caillaud, who discovered the site in 1821! We understand immediately why UNESCO classified it as a World Heritage Site in 2011.
The pyramids were built between 4BC and 3AD. The site contains over two hundred of them, whereas Egypt has only a hundred in total! Forty kings and queens are buried here.
We notice immediately that the summits of all the pyramids have been blown off with dynamite. This is the work of the Italian explorer Giuseppe Ferlini, who in 1834 came and pillaged the site, taking away priceless treasures.
© Eric Lafforgue
This painting by Abel Grimmer (1570-1619) depicts the building of the Tower of Babel. The Lord confused the languages of man at Babel. (Gen 11.1-9)