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The catalogue
4,496 places to sift through. Narrow by kind, country, period or how firmly each one is established — contested and pseudoarchaeological claims are labelled here, never hidden.
🇨🇳 China · Archaeological wonder
Warring States to Ming · Qin/Han/Ming
Great Wall at Badaling & Jiayuguan in Beijing & Gansu, China is a Warring States to Ming archaeological wonder attributed to Qin/Han/Ming culture. Inscribed UNESCO World Heritage Site (ID 438).
🇳🇬 Nigeria · Ancient city
Hausa Late Iron Age to Sultanate (c.1100 CE–present) · Hausa (Katsinawa)
Hausa walled city (14 km walls, 7 gates) with Gobarau Minaret and Kusugu well legend.
🇰🇷 South Korea · Temple complex
Silla Unified · Silla (Kim Dae-seong)
Seokguram Grotto & Bulguksa Temple in Gyeongsangbuk-do, South Korea is a Silla Unified temple complex attributed to Silla (Kim Dae-seong) culture. Inscribed UNESCO World Heritage Site (ID 736).
🇹🇭 Thailand · Temple complex
Ayutthaya Period 1351–1767 CE · Siamese / Thai (Ayutthayan)
Ruins of second Siamese capital (1351–1767) on an island at confluence of Chao Phraya rivers, with prang-pattern temples like Wat Mahathat (Buddha head in tree roots), Wat Phra Si Sanphet and Wat…
🇬🇭 Ghana · Ancient city
Late Iron Age / Akan · Akan-Bono
Crowned hilltop capital of Bono (Bono Manso) 13th–18th c, mother of Akan gold kingdoms (Mampong, Asante).
🇮🇷 Iran · Tell
Median (c.750–550 BCE) · Median
Median period fire-temple complex (3 ha) on a low hill near Malayer, excavated by David Stronach. Median levels (c.750–5...
🇪🇬 Egypt · Rock-cut
Old to Middle Kingdom (2600–1650 BCE) · Egyptian (Hare Nome)
Nomarch tombs and quarry road with colossus-on-sledge painting (1900 BCE).
🇬🇹 Guatemala · Fortress
Classic · Maya/Andean
Mixco Viejo — fortified hilltop twin capital.
🇸🇾 Syria · Tell
EB IV to Iron I (c.2400–1000 BCE) · Eblaite → Amorite → Mitanni → Hittite/Emar → Aramaean
Euphrates terrace tell now peninsula in Tabqa Lake, excavated by Rudolph Dornemann; Emar texts identify it as Azu on the...
🇩🇿 Algeria · Ancient city
Roman to Byzantine (1st c. BCE–7th c. CE) · Roman (Numidia)
Limes military colony at Biskra oasis with camp and Triton mosaic.
🇮🇷 Iran · Tell
Early Neolithic (c.7500–6000 BCE; Ali Kosh sequence 7500–6000 BCE) · Bus Mordeh → Ali Kosh → Mohammed Jaffar (Deh Luran)
Deh Luran Neolithic eponym (7500–6000 BCE) defining Iran's Bus Mordeh–Ali Kosh sequence.
🇹🇳 Tunisia · Ancient city
Roman to Hafsid (2nd c. BCE–15th c. CE) · Numidian / Roman / Byzantine / Islamic
Hilltop municipium with amphitheatre reused as Borj fortress.
🇩🇿 Algeria · Ancient city
Roman (100 CE – 7th c CE; Trajanic foundation) · Roman (Numidia, Legio III Augusta veterans)
The northern insula quarter of the perfect Trajanic grid city (12×12 insulae), Timgad North exposes veterans' houses, library with mosaic, northern baths and market, beyond the bli...
🇮🇶 Iraq · Tell
Hassuna to Ubaid (c.5900–4300 BCE; Yarim multi-period) · Hassuna → Halaf → Ubaid (Yarim I–III)
Three-mound Hassuna-Halaf-Ubaid reference sequence (5900–4300 BCE) on Sinjar plain.
🇮🇶 Iraq · Tell
Samarran to Ubaid (c.6000–5000 BCE; Samarran floruit 6000–5500 BCE) · Samarran → Choga Mami Transitional → Ubaid
Samarran irrigated village (6000 BCE) with earliest canal (2 km) east of Mandali.
🇮🇳 India · Submerged site
Late Harappan to Historical (maybe 1500 BCE onward; claimed 3500 BCE) · Harappan(?) / Historical Hindu
Ancient sacred city of Krishna described in Mahabharata, being searched offshore Bet Dwarka and Gulf of Khambhat.
🇮🇷 Iran · Tell
Aceramic Neolithic (c.8500–7300 BCE; Abdul Hosein phase) · Zagros PPN (Abdul Hosein horizon)
Luristan PPN eponym (8500 BCE) on Seimareh — coarse ware before Deh Luran.
🇲🇱 Mali · Ancient city
Djenné-Djeno culture · Djenné-Djeno (Niger Inland Delta)
Djenné-Djeno in Mopti Region, Mali is a Djenné-Djeno culture ancient city attributed to Djenné-Djeno (Niger Inland Delta) culture. Inscribed UNESCO World Heritage Site (ID 116).
🇮🇩 Indonesia · Megalith
Late prehistory to early classical; accepted 2000 BCE–1500 CE oral claims; controversial Pleistocene claim 25,000 BCE · Austronesian / Sundanese prehistoric; possibly pre-Hindu Javanese
Stepped hilltop punden berundak (terraced pyramid) with five basalt column terraces, retaining walls and standing stones covering 150×45 m at 885 m elevation; upper structures dated 45 BCE–22 CE,…
🇮🇷 Iran · Tell
Aceramic Neolithic (c.8500–7700 BCE) · Zagros PPN (Sheikh-e Abad horizon)
Sahneh PPN mound (8500 BCE) with plastered houses and early goat — sister to Ganj Dareh.
🇸🇾 Syria · Tell
EB IV to MB II (c.2500–1700 BCE) · Eblaite → Amorite → Old Babylonian
28 ha Ebla-period town on the Matakh plain south of Aleppo, Italian excavations by Francesca Baffi. EB IV–MB II (c.2500–...
🇮🇳 India · Temple complex
Satavahana early phase 200 BCE–100 CE; Vakataka renaissance 460–480 CE · Buddhist (Hinayana → Mahayana)
Thirty horseshoe-gorge rock-cut caves overlooking Waghora River with exquisite murals and sculptures: early 2nd century BCE–1st century CE Hinayana phase and later 460–480 CE Mahayana phase under…
🇵🇸 Palestine · Tell
Middle Bronze to Egyptian New Kingdom (2000–1150 BCE) · Hyksos / Egyptian
Hyksos rampart fortress (15 m thick) besieged 3 years by Ahmose.
🇮🇱 Israel · Ancient city
Middle to Upper Palaeolithic (c.55000–16000 BCE) · Late Mousterian → Aurignacian → Kebaran/Geometric Kebaran
Active Levantine cave site (55 ka–16 ka) in the Galilee karst, excavated by Ofer Marder and Omry Barzilai. Mousterian th...
