Recent Articles
- Leaning Tower of Pisa
- Porcelain Tower of Nanjing
- Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa
- Lighthouse of Alexandria
- Colossus of Rhodes
- Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
- Hanging Gardens of Babylon
- New 7 Wonders of Nature
- Mausoleum of Maussollos at Halicarnassus
- Statue of Zeus at Olympia
Leaning Tower of Pisa
December 10th, 2007 by Shenron
The Leaning Tower of Pisa is a 14,500 ton tower with 294 steps and leans at 5.5 degrees, meaning it has moved more than 4 meters from where it originally stood. It began construction in 1173, and soon after the ground under it began to sink in one softer area, along with poor foundation construction, causing the leaning.
It took 174 years to build and complete, considering it was built in stages with add-ons made later, and did not tilt until the weight of the third floor was added on. In order to compensate one side was built heavier than the other with taller walls, but they over compensated and it began to lean in that direction. Recently in the 1990’s to 2001 a mass restoration was undertaken along with strengthening of the structure and reinforcing the base, to prevent collapse and further tilt. Because of these efforts it will remain stable for at least another three hundred years and maintain its iconic status.
Posted in 7 Wonders of the Middle Ages | | 0 Comments
Porcelain Tower of Nanjing
December 10th, 2007 by Shenron
This massive tower was constructed in the 1400’s and was located in Nanjing China, with the original calling of it being the Bao’ensi (Temple of Gratitude). However when the Europeans saw it they gave it their own name that has stuck in our culture, they called it the Porcelain Tower.
It had an octagon shaped base and it was built by the Buddhist of that time, and rose nine stories into the sky to 260 feet; however the original plans for this massive monument called for an additional four stories making it 330 feet. Constructed with white porcelain bricks it was said to become a beacon of bright white during the day and was illuminated by hundreds of lamps by nightfall, and within these white brick panels were colored stoneware tiles which held many colors and images, along with landscapes and other scenes. However, after the 1850s it was lost to warfare and total destruction.
Posted in 7 Wonders of the Middle Ages | | 0 Comments
Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa
December 10th, 2007 by Shenron
The Catacombs of Kom el Shoqafa is a massive complex that was used from the 100’s to the 300’s AD, and held many corpses and burials of many people. It has Egyptians who were buried there, along with Romans and Greeks, and is one of the few catacombs that is multi cultural on this scale.
In the middle of this massive complex there is a spiral staircase that was for the movement of corpses down into the catacomb, and one of the most famous episode of this catacomb is the result of Emperor Caracalla. Although Emperor Caracalla was not buried here, he contributed to this necropolis’ population, with a mass burial chamber containing animals and humans massacred on his orders. The catacomb was lost for over a thousand years until in 1900 a donkey fell into one of its shafts, and lead to its rediscovery.
Posted in 7 Wonders of the Middle Ages | | 0 Comments
Lighthouse of Alexandria
December 10th, 2007 by Shenron
After Alexander the Great died at the young age of 33, his general Ptolemy I declared himself king of Egypt and commissioned the Lighthouse of Alexandria on the small island of Pharos. The island is just off the coast of the city of Alexandria and was ideal for the placement of a lighthouse for ships to use in their coastal navigations, as the area is very flat and often times hard to see in.
Although Ptolemy died before it could be completed, his son took over and insured it would be, and was finished in the 200’s. To insure it would survive the base was strengthened with molten lead, making the structure the second longest-lived “Great Wonder” of the ancient world, as it was still standing in the 1100’s AD, but earthquakes in 1303 and 1323 heavily damaged it. Then in 1480 the final parts vanished with the building of a castle upon it, using the stones from the lighthouse.
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Colossus of Rhodes
December 10th, 2007 by Shenron
The Colossus of Rhodes was a statue of the Greek God Helios, the sun god of the Greeks who was the personification of our home star. The rooster and the white horse were sacred to this god and his small cult which was primarily located at Rhodes.
The statue they built starting in 292 BC was 34 meters tall at least with iron beams embedded in brick, along with plates of bronze attached to hold it up and an interior support of massive columns, and it was completed in twelve years in 280BC. The statue only stood for five decades until a large earthquake laid waste to it in 226 BC, and despite an offer by Ptolemy III to pay for the reconstructions the locals refused, thinking it had offended Helios. The remains of the statue reportedly laid undisturbed for 800 or so years until Arabs under Muawiyah invaded and acquired Rhodes as their own, then the remains were sold and scattered.
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Temple of Artemis at Ephesus
December 10th, 2007 by Shenron
The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus was a temple made for the god Artemis which took one hundred and twenty years to complete. Previous temples and sites had inhabited the same grounds with excavations revealing previous structures and settlements; however the most famous is the actual Temple of Artemis at Ephesus which reached its best phase at around the middle of the fifth century BC.
The Temple of Artemis at Ephesus was destroyed by arson two hundred years later on July 21, 356 BC by a man seeking fame named Herostratus - who was then executed and mention of his name stricken under penalty of death. The temple was the restored in 323 BC, and then was destroyed again by the Goths in 262, and it was then rebuilt again - which did not last very long and it too was demolished. Parts of it were later used for some of the columns in the Hagia Sophia.
Posted in 7 Wonders of the Ancient World | | 0 Comments
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