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CategoriesAncient cities
Capitals, ports and metropolises that rose, fell and were found again.
🇺🇿 Uzbekistan · Ancient city
Achaemenid to Mongol (c.500 BCE–1220 CE, Sogdian peak 6th–8th cent CE) · Sogdian / Kushan / Islamic
Ancient Samarkand (Maracanda) — 220 ha Sogdian walled plateau with 7th-century Afrasiab murals of Eurasian envoys.
🇮🇹 Italy · Archaeological wonder
Late Neolithic (4000–3000 BCE) · Classical
Axel Heiberg Lost City North in Pozzuoli Bay, Italy is a Late Neolithic (4000–3000 BCE) archaeological wonder attributed to Classical culture.
🇩🇿 Algeria · Fortress
Roman (198–260 CE) · Roman (Numidia, Severan frontier)
Southernmost Roman desert burgus near El Hadjira with Palmyrene ostraca.
🇸🇾 Syria · Ancient city
Late Neolithic (4000–3000 BCE) · Iron Age
Posthole Structure Alignment North in Euphrates Valley, Syria is a Late Neolithic (4000–3000 BCE) ancient city attributed to Iron Age culture.
🇱🇰 Sri Lanka · Ancient city
Anuradhapura Period 377 BCE–1017 CE (peak 1st–10th c CE) · Sinhalese Theravada Buddhist (Anuradhapura Kingdom)
Sinhalese capital for 1,400 years (377 BCE–1017 CE) and great Theravada monastic center with three 4th–2nd c BCE brick dagabas among tallest premodern structures: Jetavanaramaya (originally 122 m,…
🇸🇾 Syria · Tell
Early Bronze III – Iron II (to Late Roman) · Amorite/Aramaean – Luwian
Idlib plain fortified tell (2500–550 BCE) with 30-season Japanese excavation sequence.
🇵🇪 Peru · Ancient city
Middle Horizon Wari (600–800 CE) coastal · Wari
Castillo de Huarmey? Actually Castillo Huarmey — Huarmey Wari Port in Ancash Region (coastal), Peru is a Middle Horizon Wari (600–800 CE) coastal ancient-city attributed to Wari.
🇨🇱 Chile · Archaeological wonder
Late Neolithic (4000–3000 BCE) · Medieval
Cleopatra Palace Crypt South in Chiloé Shelf, Chile is a Late Neolithic (4000–3000 BCE) archaeological wonder attributed to Medieval culture.
🇸🇾 Syria · Ancient city
Classical Antiquity (800 BCE–500 CE) · Iron Age
Deltaic Buried Harbour West in Euphrates Valley, Syria is a Classical Antiquity (800 BCE–500 CE) ancient city attributed to Iron Age culture.
🇳🇬 Nigeria · Tell
Late Kanem-Bornu (15th–18th c. CE) · Kanuri (Bornu)
Lake-fishery satellite tell west of Bornu capital on Nguru fen fen.
🇾🇪 Yemen · Hydraulic works
Sabaean to Himyarite (800 BCE – 575 CE) · Sabaean Kingdom (Saba) and Himyarite maintenance
South dam and spillway of Sabaean 763 m rock-fill marvel feeding southern oasis.
🇹🇲 Turkmenistan · Ancient city
Achaemenid 6th c BCE to Timurid 18th c CE (Seljuk peak 11th–13th c) · Parthian / Seljuk / Timurid (Persian-Central Asian)
Four superimposed cities of Merv oasis on Murghab alluvium: Erk Kala Achaemenid citadel, Gyaur Kala Hellenistic-Parthian double-walled (Antiochia Margiana), Sultan Kala Seljuk capital (world's…
🇸🇩 Sudan · Ancient city
Kushite Meroitic (300 BCE–350 CE) · Kushite Meroitic (Egyptianizing Nubian)
Island of Meroe is the UNESCO 1332 heartland between Nile–Atbara–Blue Nile (not true island) with 3 Kushite sacred complexes: City of Meroe (pyramids North/South cemeteries, Amun Temple), Musawwarat…
🇬🇷 Greece · Ancient city
Archaic to Classical (728–483 BCE) · Corinthian–Megarian Greek colony
Megara Hyblaea — Sicily in Sicily (Italian heritage), Greece is a Archaic to Classical (728–483 BCE) ancient-city attributed to Corinthian–Megarian Greek colony.
🇧🇷 Brazil · Archaeological wonder
Iron Age (1200 BCE–500 CE) · Bronze Age
Thonis Temple Pylon South in Sambaqui Coast, Brazil is a Iron Age (1200 BCE–500 CE) archaeological wonder attributed to Bronze Age culture.
🇹🇷 Turkey · Tell
Halaf → Mitanni → Neo-Assyrian (615 BCE lib) → Hellenistic → Islamic · Halaf → Mitanni Hurrian → Middle & Neo-Assyrian → Islamic
Neo-Assyrian library tell — 400 tablets of Gilgamesh (615 BCE Huzirina).
🇸🇾 Syria · Ancient city
Early Bronze to Old Assyrian · Akkadian → Amorite Assyrian
Akkadian provincial capital turned Assyrian royal city Shubat-Enlil (Shamshi-Adad I c.1813–1791 BCE), with 90 ha walled city, Akkadian palace on Acropolis, and the Weiss 4.2ka climate event…
🇮🇷 Iran · Tell
Medes to Early Bronze (c.7000 BCE–Medes 7th c. BCE) · Medes–Achaemenid transition plus prehistoric Tappeh
Nine-period mound 15 km SSW of Qazvin with Halil Tepe–like sequence: Median mudbrick fortress + intact brick vault & rampart (oldest in Iran), Edriss Iron-Age citadel, Ozbaki Maad temple?
🇪🇨 Ecuador · Ancient city
Formative – Regional Development (600 BCE–400 CE) · Tumaco-Tolita (Chocó)
La Tolita — Tumaco-Tolita Culture Center in Esmeraldas Province, Ecuador is a Formative – Regional Development (600 BCE–400 CE) ancient-city attributed to Tumaco-Tolita (Chocó).
🇺🇸 United States · Ancient city
Iron Age (1200 BCE–500 CE) · Classical
Lindenmeier Paleo Site in Mississippi Valley, United States is a Iron Age (1200 BCE–500 CE) ancient city attributed to Classical culture.
🇪🇬 Egypt · Ancient city
Ptolemaic to Roman (300 BCE–400 CE) · Ptolemaic–Roman Indian Ocean port
Myos Hormos — Quseir al-Qadim White Harbour Extension in Red Sea Governorate, Egypt is a Ptolemaic to Roman (300 BCE–400 CE) ancient-city attributed to Ptolemaic–Roman Indian Ocean port.
🇹🇳 Tunisia · Ancient city
Punic to Islamic (6th c. BCE–11th c. CE) · Punic / Roman (Tripolitana)
Oasis harbour at Wadi Gabes mouth with palm-grove cothon.
🇮🇱 Israel · Ancient city
Middle Bronze Age to Roman (2000 BCE–200 CE) · Canaanite / Phoenician / Sea Peoples (Sikils)
Tel Dor — Phoenician Port in Carmel Coast, Israel is a Middle Bronze Age to Roman (2000 BCE–200 CE) ancient-city attributed to Canaanite / Phoenician / Sea Peoples (Sikils).
🇹🇷 Turkey · Temple complex
Hellenistic to Roman Hadrianic (200 BCE – 200 CE) · Karian to Roman Asia Euromian
Best-preserved Corinthian Zeus temple 6×11 with 17 standing columns at Milas plain.
