#ancient monument

[babyfoxcollectionthings]

[2seeitall]

Arch of Hadrian in Athens, Greece (c.131-134 A.D.)

[kyg-photography]

castle sinclair girnigoe

📸 scotland, uk 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

[wandering-cemeteries]

Fragments from an Ancient Roman funerary monument. CE 160

Rhineland State Museum, Trier, Germany

March 2025

[speedilydeepruins]

Dendera Temple Complex 3

[theemeraldforesthideout]

Pentre Ifan Burial Chamber

It's likely that what you see is actually the skeleton of a chamber that was once underground. It's up for debate amongst archaeologists. The info board sides with the idea that the stone was balanced on top and the monument made to look as it does today. I personally think the soil has eroded (it's on a slope) and it's a happy accident the stone is left on top like that.

[thepastisalreadywritten]

Echoes of Stone: Moai and Karajía

The Moai of Easter Island and the Sarcophagi of Karajía in Peru are remarkable cultural landmarks that offer deep insights into the civilizations that created them.

These statues, each displaying distinctive artistic styles, stand as lasting symbols of the spiritual beliefs, social structures, and customs of their respective peoples.

Studying these mysterious figures prompts important questions about the societies behind them — why they were built, what roles they played, and how they were crafted with the tools and knowledge available at the time.

Ongoing research into these monuments continues to reveal new layers of meaning, shedding light on the complexities of ancient cultures and the enduring mysteries that surround their heritage.

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The Sarcophagi of Carajía are unusually large pre-Inca Chachapoyas culture sarcophagi at the archaeological site of Carajía in the Utcubamba Valley, located 18 km northwest of the city of Chachapoyas, Peru (Luya Province, Amazonas Region).

The site contains eight Chachapoyan mummies located on a cliffside, referred to by local residents as the “ancient wise men."

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Moai or moʻai are monolithic human figures carved by the Rapa Nui people on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) in eastern Polynesia between the years 1250 and 1500.

[gemsofgreece]

Greek news of these days

European elections. I am so amused by the people we are sending to the European parliament. Regarding the general results of the European elections, I'd dare say we can observe some improvement compared to the horrors of recent years. Of course the results were still horrible but at least they weren't as horrible as they were previously or as horrible as they were in other European countries i.e France, Austria, Germany... But the people that were most voted lol I can't wait for us to lose the last drop of integrity we might have had in Europe. For context, amongst the elected MEPs are a) one of the two most hated, bootlicking journalists in the country, b) another journalist who started her career as edjy and denunciatory and now she's apparently the exact opposite, c) at least a couple relatives / descendants of well known politicians that have done nothing on their own, d) a gymnast and model who now claims he is against pre-marital sex but admits he is a sinner and continues sinning (lol) and now he says it still hasn't sunk in that he is an MEP, e) woman who has changed face due to 682746 plastic surgeries and her whole political rhetoric is turning against other women for not subscribing to traditional feminine roles, taking care of themselves, always shaving their body hair, being skinny etc f) a 76 year old shepherd and butcher???? that she joined the elections out of impulse and now she doesn't know how the hell she was elected?!?!?! Don't get me wrong, this woman might be decent but come on, let's be real, does she sound qualified for this position? And most of the others are like that because I heard almost everybody is ridiculous amongst the elected. But honestly well done guys, let's just go utterly destroy our already suffering image and whatever tiny political impact we might have had. I can't wait. Then again all of Europe elected pathetic MEPs this year. But I hope we can still shine as some of the most embarrassing!

Wind energy. If you follow this blog VERY closely, you might remember that the issue of the uncontrollable expansion of wind parks has been discussed before. The way wind parks are made in Greece is extremely problematic because Greece has too little - let's say - "expendable" space for the housing of the wind turbines, so the government which pushes for them for MANY reasons starts making them inside environmentally protected areas, Natura 2000 locations, big mountains and generally regions with a lot of wildlife and traditional culturally significant destinations of high aesthetic and intrinsic value. So, after planting like a gazillion of wind turbins, civilians were notified that the electricity bills are about to become more costly. The government's explanation for this literally was "well it wasn't as windy as we hoped :( so now we have to raise the electricity bills... sorry". For real. I can't wait for tourists to finally start blacklisting Greece due to extensive deterioration of the natural landscape due to the wind farms. Come on guys. (The only reason I want this is because they will never stop for the sake of the environment, the landscapes and the protesting civilians of this country. Only loss of immediate profit could ever make them reconsider.)

BBC doctor Michael Mosley's death and the disappearance of another Dutch tourist. I have said this before, I will say it again. A lot of people seem to underestimate the challenges of the Greek environment and landscape. Greece has indeed this thing of often looking sweetly unassuming to the inexperienced eye but make no mistake. Greece has a VERY treacherous landscape and terrain. Don't go into nature unprepared, without water, mobile phone, sun protection, proper attire and shoes. Don't take athletic initiatives on your own if you are on the older side, have health issues and also in general, especially if you are not familiar with such terrains as the Greek one. I see the news. 60-70 year old people from the UK and the Netherlands embarking on their own for hiking during Greek heatwave? Recipe for disaster. I mean, I almost died once and I was with a group, next to a city, 40 years younger than them, healthier I guess and it was February! Because some of you don't have the full picture; it's not just about the scorching sun. It's not just about the air temperature being in the 30-40+ degrees. Greece's terrain is extremely rugged, uneven, complex and rocky and it causes rockfalls all the freaking time. The southern terrain is often barren especially in the summer and the rocks and land can get temperatures in the 60-70 degrees. You can not even say "oh I am probably getting a heatstroke but there's no hope for me to find shade or find my way out of here so I will at least lie down until sunset or someone finds me". You cannot even lie down because the rocks are burning more than the sun! Furthermore, Greece has a truly, unbelievably blinding sunlight. The white and lightcoloured rocks and terrain reflect all this light back, which in such conditions can hinder totally your eyesight. Mosley had sunglasses, a hat and an umbrella but as you see even these weren't enough in an afternoon during a heatwave and far from the signaled path. I am sorry for him but what on earth was Mosley thinking??? As for why his body was not found earlier, we should never rule out incompetence, however in this case I believe he just fell among all those rocks and was sort of camouflaged let alone that nobody expected him to have managed to reach so close to safety and yet not make it. They apparently were checking mostly the more remote and dangerous areas, which is so ironic! RIP. I hope the Dutch tourist is found alive and well. Greece can be entirely safe but as long as you practice common sense, like in all places.

The ancient shrine discovered in Crete. I made a small post about it here already. Some newer estimations place the date of the monument a little later in time (3000 - 2000 BC) so somewhere between proto-Minoan and palaeo-Minoan eras. However, the shrine is unique in Greece. It is a structure of off-centre circles and originally it might have had a tower/ pyramid with a conic shape. Such monuments have so far only been found in the Near East, including a very ancient one dating back to 7000 BC. This is pure hypothesis but archaeologists examine whether the shrine is associated to a very early worship of Zeus or the worship of the early proto-Indoeuropean deity that eventually led to several equivalents, amongst them Zeus. Some others wondered whether this could be the shrine for the "omphálio pedíon", the location where Zeus' umbilical cord fell as he was carried by the Kouretes. Archaeologists and historians from around the world had been searching such a location in Crete for a long time. But of course, take this with a grain of salt. It's too early and so far archaeologists only make assumptions. What's certain is that there is not another such formation in Greece and it will eventually provide a lot of information regarding either very early Mycenaean Greeks or the Minoans or maybe even pre-Greek populations.