Ancient World
Newark Earthworks: Hopewell Geometry and Moon Alignments in Ohio
The surviving Great Circle and Octagon became part of the Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks World Heritage Site in 2023.
Era · c. 3000 BC – AD 500
Ancient World
The first cities, empires and written records, from the pyramids of Egypt to Greece and the Roman Empire.
Ancient World
Pyramid of the Moon: Teotihuacan's Northern Sacred Monument
Rebuilt seven times, the pyramid became Teotihuacan's second-largest monument and the focus of state rituals involving human and animal sacrifice.
Ancient World
Huacas del Sol y de la Luna: Moche Temples Near Trujillo
The site became the political and religious capital of the southern Moche; Huaca del Sol was later partly destroyed by colonial treasure hunters.
Ancient World
Kingdom of Aksum: Rise of the Ancient Ethiopian Empire
Aksum became one of the great states of late antiquity, adopted Christianity in the 4th century and declined after the 7th century as Red Sea trade shifted.
Ancient World
Moche Civilization: Warrior-Priests of Peru's North Coast
The Moche created the first great states of Peru's north coast; their traditions passed to the later Lambayeque (Sicán) and Chimú cultures.
Ancient World
Trajan's Dacian Wars (101-106): How Rome Conquered Dacia
Roman victory; the Dacian kingdom was destroyed, Decebalus died and Dacia became a Roman province in AD 106.
Ancient World
Invention of Paper in China: Cai Lun and the Han Papermakers
Cai Lun's improved papermaking process made paper a practical writing material in China, from where the craft spread across Asia, the Islamic world and Europe.
Ancient World
Pliny's Letter to Trajan on Christians (c. AD 112) Explained
Trajan ruled that Christians should not be hunted out or accused anonymously, but those charged and refusing to recant were to be punished.
Ancient World
Trajan's Column (AD 113): The Dacian Wars in Spiral Relief
The column became Trajan's tomb monument and the most detailed surviving visual record of a Roman military campaign.
Ancient World
Pantheon, Rome: Hadrian's Temple and Its Great Concrete Dome
The rebuilt Pantheon survived intact as a church from AD 609 and became the most influential domed building in Western architecture.
Ancient World
Hadrian's Villa at Tivoli: The Emperor's Country Palace
The villa became the largest Roman imperial residence known and, after its rediscovery, a major source of ancient sculpture and architectural ideas.
Ancient World
Hadrian's Wall (AD 122): Rome's Frontier in Northern Britain
The wall became the northern frontier of Roman Britain for most of nearly three centuries and is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.