Crete. Knossos. Throne
ancient
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ISIS conquest of the historic city of Palmyra, the Unesco world heritage site, marks the first time the group “has seized an entire city from Syrian government forces.”
“The Islamic State militants now control about half of Syria’s territory. Nearly all of that is desert, although the militants have seized critical roads, oil and gas fields, and many sites where valuable antiquities can be excavated, now chief among them Palmyra.“
NYT
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Pura Llempuyang Gate, in Bali, Indonesia.
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“Cube of Zoroaster” (Ka’ba-ye Zartosht) | 5th century BCE, Naghsh-e Rostam.
Via 1
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Cappadocia / Turkey (by Graeme Churchard).
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Doggerland.
A map showing Doggerland, a region of northwest Europe home to Mesolithic people before sea level rose to inundate this area and create the Europe we are familiar with today.
Map via National Geographic magazine.
Most awesome! - AK
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Diocletian’s Palace - Before and after.
Plates in -E. Hébrard and J. Zeiller, Spalato, le Palais de Dioclétien, Paris, 1912.
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Inhabiting Infrastructures: Indian Stepwells | Socks Studio
The stepwells are generally storage and irrigation tanks in which sets of steps must be descended in order to reach for water and maintain the well itself. These structures are mostly common in western India and in arid regions of South Asia where they provide regular supply in regions affected by heavy seasonal fluctuations in water availability.
The stepwells, (the erliest date to 600 AD), essentially appear as infrastructural monuments for water collection, huge artifacts somewhere between landscape and architecture sunken in the earth. They are usually composed of two constant elements, a well and an access route: the well collects monsoon rain percolating through layers of fine silt (to filter particulates), eventually reaching a layer of impermeable clay. The second elements, the staircases, are descended to reach water and allow the use of the infrastructure. There are no two identical stepwells, as each one of them, – about 3000 were built -, reveals specific features in the shape and in the decorative motives; in some cases the stepwells host galleries and chambers around the well.
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Laura Gilpin (1891–1979)
Steps of the Castillo, Chichen Itza, 1932
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Nevsehir, Central Anatolia, Turkey
you have to go there before you die…at least one time…
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This is my Greece | Interior of the Treasury of Atreus an impressive “tholos” beehive shaped tomb on the Panagitsa Hill at Mycenae an UNESCO World Heritage Archaeological Site, in the north-eastern Peloponnese
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My Son (which means in Vietnamese “Beautiful Mountain”), is a cluster of abandoned Hindu temples built between the 4th and 13th century AD, located in the Quang Nam Province of Vietnam. This site gives us great insight into political and spiritual life of this important phase of South-East Asian history. Its position in a small valley surrounded by high mountains gave it strategic advantage and easy defense.
My Son was the capital of the Champa Kingdom for the majority of its existence, which started when the people of the Tuong Lam area rose up against their Chinese overlords in AD 192. Many temples were built to the Hindu divinities (such as Vishnu, Krishna, and Shiva) when the Cham came under influence of the Hindu religion, My Son being the favored location for such temples by kings in the 6th and 8th centuries. The vast majority of the 11th century was a period of continuous warfare, and My Son suffered greatly. Following the decline of the Champa Kingdom from the 13th century, by the 15th century, worship ceased at My Son.
The kalan (main tower) symbolizes the meru (sacred mountain) at the centre of the universe. The bhurloka (rectangular base), decorated with reliefs, represents the human world.
Photos courtesy & taken by dalbera. When writing up this post, UNESCO world heritage was of great use.
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Plan of a restored version of the Thermae of Titus, Rome
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Recently, aerial photographer Jason Hawkes was on an assignment in Libya, with access to a Russian-built Mi-8 helicopter, He flew along the Mediterranean coastline, photographing Tripoli and several ancient Roman sites from above, including Sabratha and Leptis Magna. The result is a collection of images of Libya rather unlike most recent photos from the region, showing a continuity of more than 2,000 years of human habitation along the coast of North Africa. Jason was once again kind enough to share some of his images with us here. Be sure to also see an earlier story, showing the Night Skies of London and the U.K..
See more. [Images: Jason Hawkes]
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Detail of the Bathing Pool by Hubert Robert in the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Feb. 2007 (by ElissaSCA)
The Bathing Pool
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Aerial view of Sacsayhuaman, Cuzco, Peru…
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A Mayan tomb in Copán, Honduras