25 Most Amazing Ancient Ruins of the World

The world is home to a plethora of fascinatingancient ruins, from crumbling cities to temples that have withstood the test of time. Just take a look at their meticulous cityplanning and incredible feats of engineering;. some of which we are yet to fully understand. Some of the most captivating ancient. ruinsare full of thousand-year-old mysteries that will boggle even the most curious of minds. Number. 25. Ayutthaya. Founded around the year 1350, AyUTthaya isa historical city that began as a. Khmer military and trading post. It held onto this title for four centuriesuntil it was burned down. by Burmese invaders. Only around 50 stone relics and temples survivedthe fire and can still be seen today. Number 24. Stonehenge. Dotted along the Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire,England, Stonehengewas used as a site for religious rituals or otherwise to monitor the movements. of thesun and moon. Number 23. Mesa Verde. Deep in the American Southwest, you’ll findMesa Verde National Park with its. fascinating collection of 600 ancient clifftop dwellings. Number 22. Sigiriya. On top of what is. now known as Lion Rock are the fascinating remains of an ancient civilization, thought to be the capital of the kingdom ofKassapa. Number 21. Masada. Perched on. a cliff top overlooking the JudaeanDesert and the Dead Sea in Israel, the site is. hauntingly beautiful. Dating back over thousands of years, it wasbuilt as the palace of King. Herod. It had modern creature comforts such as abathhouse and even private swimming pools. More. famously, the enormous fortificationsaw the last stand of the Jewish Revolt who chose death over a life of Roman slavery. Number 20. Hampi. Once the thriving epicenter of the Karnata Empire, Hampi was one of the wealthiest in India. Found in the 14th-century by two princes, it is now only crumbling ruins. The eerie ruins of Pompeii can be found neheart the Italian city of Naples in the Italian region of Naples. When the iconic Roman city erupted in Vesuvius in 79 AD, it destroyed the main temple with its stone chariot and musical pillars, and the main chariot with its carved stone carving. It is now a simple religious center that served as the royal family’s personal place of worship, including the House of Victory, the Vitthala temple and the temple that served the royal. family of the Pompeii family. The most famous of these dwellings is theCliff. Palace, built into an enormous sandstone alcove that’ve protected it from the elements for over seven. centuries. It's the largest of its kind in North Americaand unlike the rest of the. dwellings that contained just a few rooms for residentialpurposes, the palace had over 150 rooms. and 23 sacred kivas. The climb to the top of Sigiriya iscertainly not for the faint-hearted, but the views of the ramparts, terraced gardens and caveshrines will be worth the effort. The ancient fortress of Masada is possiblyone of. the most impressive ruins on the planet. It included a citadel, a mirrorwall. with stunning colorful frescoes, and a gateway in the shape of a lion. After the king passed, the capital was abandonedand it was used as an Buddhist monastery. The ruins of Hampi are thought to have been used as the center of the Roman city of Pompeius. It was once the thriving medieval epicenter.enter. with temples and imperialaces, now only remnants of the ancient capital began to remain. The remains of the city are found in Hampi, a city of two princes and the former royal family of Naples, Italy and the city of Vesuvio. The Roman city was destroyed in the 18th century by the eruption of Mount Vesuius in Naples, when it erupted in volcanic waves in AD79. The city is still a popular day trip from London and is known as the ‘Pompeii’ and ‘Vesuvius’ is a ‘nostalgic’ city. The site is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is located in the town of Vesuuvius, Italy, with a number of ancient ruins that include the Temple of the Vesta, a temple that once stood on the banks of the River Vesuvia and the City of the Three Gorges, among other ancient ruins. It also includes the ruins of the Vesuvii, a Roman city that once served as a center for religious worship, the temple of Victory.