Megathumb

Ancient Megalithic Sites and Structures

  • Gobekli Tepe, Turkey
    9500 BCE

    Gobekli Tepe, Turkey

    Wiki
    Video Göbekli Tepe (Turkish: "Potbelly Hill") is a site in Turkey. Dated to 9500 and 8000 BCE, the site has the world's oldest known megaliths. Beginning at the end of the last Ice Age, this may be the earliest evidence for permanent human settlements in the world. The largest pillar has a length of 7 m (23 ft) and its head has width of 3 m (10 ft). Its weight is around 50 tons.
  • Carnac Stones, France
    4500 BCE

    Carnac Stones, France

    Wiki
    Video The Carnac stones are an exceptionally dense collection of megalithic sites in France, consisting of alignments (rows), dolmens (stone tombs), tumuli (burial mounds) and single menhirs (standing stones). More than 3,000 prehistoric standing stones were cut from local granite, erected by pre-Celtic people of Brittany, and form the largest collection in the world. The largest weigh 380 tons.
  • Dolmen of Menga, Spain
    3750 BCE

    Dolmen of Menga, Spain

    Wiki
    Video The Dolmen of Menga is a megalithic burial mound called a tumulus, a long barrow form of dolmen, dating from the 3750-3650 BCE in Spain. The structure is 27.5 metres (90 ft) long, 6 metres (20 ft) wide and 3.5 metres (11 ft) high, and was built with thirty-two megaliths, the largest weighing about 180 tonnes (200 tons).
  • Temples of Malta, Malta
    3600 BCE

    Temples of Malta, Malta

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    Video The Megalithic Temples of Malta are several prehistoric temples built during three distinct periods approximately between 3600 BC and 2500 BC on the island country of Malta. This site had the oldest free-standing structures on earth, until the discovery of Gobekli Tepe. Some of the stones here weigh as large as 20 tons.
  • Newgrange, Ireland
    3200 BCE

    Newgrange, Ireland

    Wiki
    Video Newgrange, located in Ireland is an exceptionally grand passage tomb built during the Neolithic Period, around 3200 BC, making it older than Stonehenge and the Egyptian pyramids. It is aligned on the winter solstice sunrise. Some of the largest stones inside can weigh as large as 5 tons (10 feet tall and 4 feet wide); however, these are the smallest sizes in comparison to the other structures.
  • Stonehenge, England
    3000 BCE

    Stonehenge, England

    Wiki
    360Video Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument on Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire, England. Archaeologists believe that Stonehenge was constructed from 3000 BC to 2000 BC. The structure consists of an outer ring of vertical standing stones, each around 13 feet (4.0 m) high, seven feet (2.1 m) wide, and weighing around 25 tons, topped by connecting horizontal stones.
  • Pyramid of Giza, Egypt
    2570 BCE

    Pyramid of Giza, Egypt

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    Video
    360Video The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest Egyptian pyramid and tomb of Fourth Dynasty pharaoh Khufu. Built in the 26th century BC during a period of around 27 years, it is the oldest of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World, and the only one to remain largely intact. The largest blocks were estimated to weigh 90 tons.
  • Unfinished Obelisk, Egypt
    1508 BCE

    Unfinished Obelisk, Egypt

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    Video The unfinished obelisk is the largest known ancient obelisk, nearly one-third larger than any ancient Egyptian obelisk ever erected, and is located in Aswan, Egypt. If finished it would have measured around 41.75 meters (137.0 ft) and would have weighed nearly 1,090 tonnes (1,200 tons), a weight equal to about 200 African elephants.
  • Olmec Heads, Mexico
    1500 BCE

    Olmec Heads, Mexico

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    Video The Olmecs were the earliest known major Mesoamerican civilization. The heads were said to be depictions of various rulers. The heads range in size from the Rancho La Cobata head, at 3.4 m (11 ft) high, to the pair at Tres Zapotes, at 1.47 m (4 ft 10 in). The largest heads weigh between 25 and 55 tonnes (28 and 61 tons). The heads were carved from single blocks or boulders of volcanic basalt.
  • Serapeum of Saqqara
    1400 BCE

    Serapeum of Saqqara

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    Video The Serapeum of Saqqara was the ancient Egyptian burial place for sacred bulls of the Apis cult at Memphis. It was believed that the bulls were incarnations of the god Ptah, which would become immortal after death as Osiris-Apis. one of the large sarcophagi of the Greater Vaults are estimated to have a total mass of 70-100 tons including the lid.
  • Colossi of Memnon
    1350 BCE

    Colossi of Memnon

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    Video The Colossi of Memnon are two massive stone statues of the Pharaoh Amenhotep III. Including the stone platforms on which they sit – themselves about 4 m (13 ft) – the colossi reach 18 m (60 ft) in height and weigh an estimated 720 tons each.
  • Osireion, Egypt
    1294 BCE

    Osireion, Egypt

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    Video The original purpose is unknown. It is an integral part of King Seti I's funeral complex and is possibly built to resemble an 18th Dynasty Valley of the Kings tomb. The largest stones were estimated to weigh 50-60 tons.
  • Moai, Polynesia
    1260 BCE

    Moai, Polynesia

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    Video Moai (meaning "statue" in Rapa Nui) are monolithic human figures carved by the Rapa Nui people on Easter Island in eastern Polynesia. The heaviest moai erected was a shorter but squatter moai at Ahu Tongariki, weighing 86 tonnes (84.6 tons). One unfinished sculpture, if completed, would have been approximately 21 m (69 ft) tall, with a weight of about 145–165 tons.
  • Mycenae, Greece
    1250 BCE

    Mycenae, Greece

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    Video In the second millennium BC, Mycenae was one of the major centers of Greek civilization, a military stronghold which dominated much of southern Greece. The weights of the largest stones ranged from 20 - 100 tonnes ( 22 - 110 tons).
  • Pillars of Ashoka, India
    268 BCE

    Pillars of Ashoka, India

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    Video The pillars of Ashoka are a series of monolithic columns dispersed throughout the Indian subcontinent, erected or at least inscribed with edicts by the Mauryan Emperor Ashoka. Averaging between 12 and 15 m (40 and 50 ft) in height, and weighing up to 50 tons each.
  • Western Stone, Jerusalem
    19 BCE

    Western Stone, Jerusalem

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    Video The Western Stone is a monolithic stone ashlar block forming part of the lower level of the Western Wall in Jerusalem. The stone is estimated to weigh 250 tonnes (275 tons).
  • Baalbek, Lebanon
    27

    Baalbek, Lebanon

    Wiki
    Video The Baalbek Stones are six massive stone blocks in Baalbek, Lebanon. The smallest three are part of the Temple of Jupiter and known as the "Trilithon". Each is estimated at about 750–800 tonnes (830–880 tons). The largest is 1200 tons. Although the site is considered Roman and year 2000+ , there are speculations the site is older and the Romans built on top of the Trilithon stones.
  • Tiwanaku, Bolivia
    110

    Tiwanaku, Bolivia

    Wiki
    Video Tiwanaku is a Pre-Columbian site in Bolivia, and is one of the largest sites in South America. The site's population probably peaked around AD 800 with 10,000 to 20,000 people. The largest stone block made of andesite, is estimated to weigh 65.7 tons. From 1910 to 1945, Arthur Posnansky maintained that the site was 11,000–17,000 years old, but the current date is stated as 110.
  • Obelisk of Axum, Ethiopia
    321

    Obelisk of Axum, Ethiopia

    Wiki
    Video The Obelisk of Axum is an obelisk located in Ethiopia and built around 321. The function of the obelisk is supposed to be as "markers" for underground burial chambers. The obelisk is about 24 meters (80 feet) tall and weighing 160 tonnes (180 short tons).
  • Stone Spheres, Costa Rica
    500

    Stone Spheres, Costa Rica

    Wiki
    Video They are thought to have been placed in lines along the approach to the houses of chiefs, but their exact significance remains uncertain. The spheres range in size from a few centimeters to over 2 meters (6.6 ft) in diameter, and weigh up to 15 tons.
  • Puma Punku
    536

    Puma Punku

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    Video Puma Punku (meaning Gate of the Puma) is a 6th-century T-shaped and strategically aligned man-made terraced platform that is part of the Pumapunku complex, at the Tiwanaku Site near Tiwanacu, Bolivia. The largest of Puma Punku's stone blocks is 7.81 metres (25.6 feet) long, 5.17 metres (17.0 feet) wide, 1.07 metres (3 feet 6 inches) thick, and is estimated to weigh 131 tonnes (144 short tons).
  • Sacsayhuamán, Peru
    900

    Sacsayhuamán, Peru

    Sacsayhuaman
    Video Sacsayhuamán, (possibly from Quechua language, "falcon" or "hawk") is a citadel on the northern outskirts of the city of Cusco, Peru, the historic capital of the Inca Empire. Estimates for the weight of the largest andesite block vary from 128 tonnes to almost 200 tonnes.
  • Nan Madol, Micronesia
    1180

    Nan Madol, Micronesia

    Wiki
    Video The city, constructed in a lagoon, consists of a series of small artificial islands linked by a network of canals. There are estimates that the largest stones were 50 tons.
  • Ha'amonga, Tonga
    1200

    Ha'amonga, Tonga

    Wiki
    Video Haʻamonga ʻa Maui ("The Burden of Maui") is a stone trilithon located in Tonga. It was built in the 13th century by King Tuʻitātui in honor of his two sons. The monument is sometimes called the "Stonehenge of the Pacific". The trilithon is constructed from three coral limestone slabs. The weight of the visible part of each upright stone is approximately 30–40 tons.
  • Rammeseum, Egypt
    1274

    Rammeseum, Egypt

    Wiki
    Video The Ramesseum is the memorial temple of Pharaoh Ramesses II. In the image, the blocks behind and to the right of the guy in the picture are the remnants of the statue of Ramesses (the base and torso). The statue of Ramesses was estimated to weigh over 1000 tons, be a single piece of stone, and was alleged to have been transported 170 miles (270 km) over land.
  • Twelve Angled Stone, Peru
    1438

    Twelve Angled Stone, Peru

    Wiki
    Video The twelve-angled stone is an archeological artifact in Cuzco, Peru. It was part of a stone wall of an Inca palace, and is considered to be a national heritage object. The stone is currently part of a wall of the palace of the Archbishop of Cuzco. The stone is estimated to weigh about 6 tons.
  • Machu Picchu, Peru
    1450

    Machu Picchu, Peru

    Wiki
    Video Machu Picchu is a 15th-century Inca citadel located in the Eastern Cordillera of southern Peru on a 2,430-meter (7,970 ft) mountain ridge. Although officially the Incas were credited with creating Machu Picchu, there are some speculations that the Incas built structures on top of existing structures from a previous civilization. Some of the stones weighed over 55 tons.
  • Aztec Sun Stone, Mexico
    1502

    Aztec Sun Stone, Mexico

    Wiki
    Video The Aztec sun stone is a late post-classic Mexica sculpture housed in the National Anthropology Museum in Mexico City. The sculpture measures 3.58 Meters (12 feet) in diameter and 1 meter (3 feet) thick, and weighs about 25 tons.
  • Osaka Castle, Japan

    Osaka Castle, Japan

    Wiki
    Video
    Video The castle is one of Japan's most famous landmarks and it played a major role in the unification of Japan during the sixteenth century. The castle has walls built with megalithic stones. One of the more famous stones is the "Octopus Stone" weighing as much as 120 tonnes (130 tons).