229 pages

Ancient sites

229 ancient sites, from rock art 45,000 years old to the cities of the first empires: what they were, how they are dated and where they stand.

Murujuga rock art engravings from c. 45,000 years ago onward
Apollo 11 Cave painted slabs c. 28,000 BCE (about 30,000 years old)
Shum Laka used from c. 30,000 years ago to c. 400 years ago; burials c. 6000 and 1000 BCE
Xianrendong Cave pottery c. 18,000 BCE (20,000–19,000 years ago); used to c. 8000 BCE
Huaca Prieta c. 12,500–2000 BCE
Monte Verde c. 12,500 BCE (about 14,500 years ago) — date now challenged
ʿAin Mallaha (Eynan) c. 12,400–10,200 BCE
Raqefet Cave c. 12,000–9700 BCE (Natufian burials)
Tell Abu Hureyra c. 11,300–5800 BCE
Blackwater Draw (Clovis type site) Clovis level c. 11,100–10,800 BCE
Bhimbetka rock shelters paintings c. 10,000 BCE (Mesolithic) to medieval times; occupation far older
Jericho (Tell es-Sultan) c. 10,000 BCE – Persian period; tower and wall c. 8000 BCE
Pedra Furada (Serra da Capivara) rock paintings from c. 10,000 BCE; claimed traces 48,000–32,000 years old disputed
Spirit Cave c. 12,000–7,000 radiocarbon years ago (very roughly 10,000–5500 BCE)
Tassili n'Ajjer rock art c. 10,000 BCE (debated) to the early centuries CE
Karahan Tepe c. 9750–9400 BCE (dates still being refined)
Göbekli Tepe c. 9500–8000 BCE
Lepenski Vir c. 9500/7200–5500 BCE (trapezoid houses c. 6300–6000 BCE)
Ounjougou oldest pottery c. 9400 BCE
Shangshan c. 9400–6600 BCE (11,400–8600 cal BP)
Star Carr c. 9300–8500 BCE
Guilá Naquitz Cave used c. 8800–6900 BCE and again c. 650–1450 CE
Çayönü c. 8630–6800 BCE
Gobero c. 7700–6200 and 5200–2500 BCE
Bhirrana claimed c. 7500 BCE; most scholars: 4th millennium BCE to c. 1900 BCE
Nabta Playa c. 7500–3500 BCE; stone circle 5th millennium BCE
Pengtoushan c. 7500–6100 BCE
Cueva de las Manos c. 7300 BCE – 700 CE
ʿAin Ghazal c. 7250–5000 BCE
Çatalhöyük c. 7100–5600 BCE
Jarmo c. 7090–4950 BCE
Jiahu c. 7000–5700 BCE
Kuk Swamp drainage from c. 7000 BCE (about 9,000 years ago)
Mehrgarh c. 7000 BCE (excavators) or c. 5200 BCE (2025 re-dating) to c. 2600 BCE
Peiligang c. 7000–5000 BCE (Peiligang culture)
Sesklo c. 7000–4400 BCE (earliest levels possibly older)
Ugarit (Ras Shamra) c. 7000–1185 BCE; golden age c. 1500–1200 BCE
Starčevo culture dated c. 6200–4500 BCE
Jeitun c. 6000 BCE, for a few centuries
Tell Halaf c. 6100–5400 BCE (Halaf village); later the Aramaean city of Guzana
Vinča–Belo Brdo c. 5700–4500 BCE (later reoccupied)
Hemudu c. 5500–3300 BCE
Eridu c. 5400–600 BCE
Bangudae Petroglyphs c. 5000 BCE – 9th century CE (approximate)
Uruk (Eanna and the White Temple) c. 5000 BCE – c. 700 CE; Eanna and White Temple c. 3500–3100 BCE
Cairn of Barnenez built c. 4850–4000 BCE; reused in the 3rd millennium BCE
Banpo c. 4700–3600 BCE
Budj Bim eel traps from at least c. 4600 BCE (6,600 years ago)
Rakhigarhi village from c. 4600 BCE; city c. 2600–1900 BCE
Varna Necropolis c. 4570–4340 BCE
Akrotiri settled by c. 4500 BCE; buried c. 1600 BCE
Carnac stones c. 4500–3300 BCE
Areni-1 cave c. 4300–3500 BCE
Susa c. 4200 BCE – 1218 CE
Abydos c. 4000 BCE – late Roman times
Arslantepe c. 4000–700 BCE; palace c. 3400–3200 BCE
Hierakonpolis (Nekhen) c. 4000–2686 BCE (main period)
Ħal Saflieni Hypogeum c. 4000–2500 BCE
Sannai-Maruyama c. 3900–2300 BCE
Talianki mega-site c. 3850–3700 BCE
Real Alto Valdivia village c. 3800–1500 BCE (earlier traces)
Ur (ziggurat and Royal Cemetery) c. 3800–500 BCE; Royal Cemetery c. 2600 BCE; ziggurat 21st century BCE
Dolmen of Menga built c. 3750–3650 BCE
Maykop kurgan built within c. 3700–3100 BCE
Troy (Hisarlik) c. 3600 BCE – c. 500 CE
Ġgantija temples c. 3600–2500 BCE
Ebla (Tell Mardikh) c. 3500 BCE – 7th century CE; archives c. 2400–2300 BCE
Kalibangan c. 3500–1750 BCE
Laas Geel c. 3500–2500 BCE (estimated)
Ness of Brodgar c. 3500–2200 BCE
Niuheliang c. 3500–3000 BCE
Sarazm c. 3500–2000 BCE (radiocarbon range 3900–2100 BCE)
Sechín Bajo c. 3500–1300 BCE
Watson Brake c. 3500–3000 BCE
Harappa c. 3300–1300 BCE; city at its height c. 2600–1900 BCE
Kot Diji c. 3300–2100 BCE
Liangzhu City c. 3300–2300 BCE
Ötzi the Iceman (find site) died c. 3230 BCE
Altyn-Depe c. 3200–2000 BCE; urban c. 2400–2000 BCE
Skara Brae c. 3180–2500 BCE
Newgrange built c. 3100 BCE; out of use by the Bronze Age
Stonehenge c. 3100–1600 BCE (sarsen circle c. 2600–2400 BCE)
Bat, Al-Khutm and Al-Ayn c. 3000–2000 BCE
Burzahom c. 3000–1000 BCE
Dholavira c. 3000–1500 BCE (phases debated)
Los Millares c. 3000–2000 BCE
Lothagam North Pillar Site c. 3000–2300 BCE
Nineveh c. 3000–612 BCE (Assyrian capital from c. 700 BCE)
Step Pyramid of Djoser, Saqqara c. 2667–2648 BCE
Caral (Sacred City of Caral-Supe) c. 2600–2000 BCE
Pyramids of Giza c. 2600–2500 BCE
Kerma c. 2500–1500 BCE
Mohenjo-daro c. 2500–1700 BCE
Gonur Depe c. 2400–1600 BCE
Mausoleum of Tangun legendary date 2333 BCE; present monument built 1994
Babylon c. 2300 BCE – c. 1000 CE; first mentioned c. 2200 BCE
Lothal c. 2300–1900 BCE
Shimao c. 2300–1800 BCE
Taosi c. 2300–1900 BCE
Dilmun Burial Mounds c. 2200–1750 BCE (main period)
El Argar c. 2200–1500 BCE
Arkaim c. 2150–1650 BCE (published ranges vary)
Sintashta c. 2100–1800 BCE
Ban Chiang c. 2000 or 1500 BCE – c. 200 CE (start date disputed)
Dhar Tichitt c. 2000–300 BCE
Hattusa c. 2000–1190 BCE (Hittite capital from c. 1650 BCE)
Palmyra early 2nd millennium BCE – 1932 CE; height 1st–3rd century CE
Shortugai c. 2000–1700 BCE
Sinauli c. 2000–1500 BCE
Ōyu Stone Circles c. 2000–1500 BCE
Karnak Temple Complex c. 1970 BCE to Roman times
Knossos (Palace of Minos) palace c. 1900–1350 BCE (hill settled from c. 7000 BCE)
Etemenanki, the ziggurat of Babylon origins perhaps 18th century BCE; rebuilt 7th–6th century BCE; demolished 323 BCE
Paso de la Amada c. 1800–1000 BCE
Erlitou c. 1750–1500 BCE (older estimates from c. 1900 BCE)
Poverty Point c. 1700–1100 BCE
Sanxingdui c. 1700–1150 BCE (sacrificial pits 12th–11th centuries BCE)
Su Nuraxi di Barumini tower 17th–13th century BCE; village to the 6th century BCE
Mycenae citadel c. 1600–1100 BCE (Lion Gate c. 1250 BCE)
Nebra sky disc find site (Mittelberg) disc buried c. 1600 BCE
Zhengzhou Shang City c. 1600–1400 BCE
Kaminaljuyu c. 1500 BCE – 1200 CE (peak c. 400–100 BCE)
Nok c. 1500 BCE – 1 CE; terracottas from c. 900 BCE
San José Mogote c. 1500–500 BCE
Submerged structures off Dwarka disputed: c. 1500 BCE (S. R. Rao) or historical to medieval times
Luxor Temple c. 1400 BCE to Roman times
San Lorenzo Tenochtitlán Olmec centre c. 1400–900 BCE
Abu Simbel temples c. 1264–1244 BCE
Chogha Zanbil c. 1250–645 BCE
Yinxu (Anyang) c. 1250–1046 BCE
Plain of Jars jars placed perhaps c. 1240–660 BCE; burials at Site 1 8th–13th centuries CE
Chavín de Huántar c. 1200–500 BCE (dates debated)
Hallstatt salt mines and cemetery c. 1200–350 BCE (prehistoric mining)
Jinsha c. 1200–800 BCE (Shi'erqiao phase)
La Venta c. 1200–400 BCE (main centre c. 900–400 BCE)
Sivagalai c. 1200–700 BCE (rice from a burial urn); a claim of iron at 3345 BCE is disputed
Hastinapur Painted Grey Ware town c. 1100–800 BCE (Lal; 2021–22 dig: from c. 1500 BCE); occupied into medieval times
Teouma c. 1100–900 BCE (about 3,000 years old)
Adichanallur c. 1000–600 BCE (radiocarbon); earlier claims debated
Cuicuilco c. 1000 BCE – c. 300 CE
Gochang, Hwasun and Ganghwa dolmens c. 1000–300 BCE (Bronze Age; Gochang group c. 7th century BCE)
Taxila c. 1000 BCE–5th century CE
Tikal (early phase) first farmers c. 1000 BCE; major building from c. 400 BCE; abandoned c. 900 CE
Đông Sơn c. 1000 BCE – 1st century CE (culture)
Anuradhapura settled c. 900 BCE; capital from the 4th century BCE to the 10th century CE; sacred city today
Lapita type site (Site 13, Foué) dated to c. 800 BCE
Manunggul Cave (Tabon Caves) Manunggul Jar c. 890–710 BCE
Nukuleka founded c. 888 BCE; occupied for about 250 years
Songguk-ri c. 850–300 BCE
Carthage founded c. 814 BCE (traditional date); destroyed 146 BCE; Roman city to 698 CE
Hire Benakal c. 800–200 BCE
Matara c. 8th century BCE – 7th century CE (approximate; pre-Aksumite to Aksumite)
Meroë c. 800 BCE – 350 CE; royal pyramids c. 300 BCE – 350 CE
Paracas cemeteries (Cerro Colorado) c. 800–100 BCE
Olympia Games c. 776 BCE (traditional) – 390s CE
Great Dam of Marib 8th century BCE – c. 570s CE
Biskupin built c. 747–722 BCE; lived in into the 6th century BCE
Yeha (Great Temple) temple c. 700 BCE
Heuneburg 7th–5th century BCE (mudbrick wall c. 600 BCE)
El Mirador main city c. 600 BCE – 150 CE (later reoccupied)
Keezhadi 6th century BCE–3rd century CE (radiocarbon); excavator proposes 8th century BCE; ASI questions this
Pataliputra (Kumhrar) c. 600 BCE–600 CE
Pompeii 7th–6th century BCE – 79 CE
Taruga c. 600–200 BCE (iron smelting c. 4th–3rd century BCE)
Merv city c. 550 BCE–18th century CE
Behistun inscription carved c. 520 BCE
Persepolis c. 518–330 BCE
Kodumanal c. 5th–1st century BCE (dates debated)
Monte Albán c. 500 BCE – 850 CE
Nazca Lines c. 500 BCE – 500 CE
Acropolis of Athens (Parthenon) Parthenon 447–432 BCE; damaged 1687
Tollund Man (find site) died c. 405–384 BCE
Cổ Loa Citadel c. 4th–2nd century BCE
Petra c. 4th century BCE – 7th century CE; Treasury 1st century CE
San Bartolo c. 400 BCE – 400 CE (murals c. 100 BCE)
Yoshinogari before 400 BCE – 3rd century CE
Great Serpent Mound built c. 300 BCE (Adena) or c. 1000 CE (Fort Ancient) — disputed
Pattanam c. 3rd century BCE–5th century CE
Ai-Khanoum c. 290–145 BCE
Dujiangyan built c. 256 BCE; still in use
Amaravati Stupa 3rd century BCE–c. 250 CE; known as a centre until the 14th century
Djenné-Djenno c. 250 BCE – 1400 CE
Grave Creek Mound c. 250–150 BCE
Junagadh rock inscriptions (Girnar) Ashoka c. 250 BCE; Rudradaman c. 150 CE; Skandagupta c. 456 CE
Sanchi 3rd century BCE–12th century CE
Sarnath c. 250 BCE–1194 CE
Mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang and the Terracotta Army 246–209 BCE
Lumbini pillar of Ashoka c. 249–242 BCE (Ashoka's 20th regnal year)
Lauriya Nandangarh pillar c. 243–236 BCE (dating of Ashoka's reign varies)
Ajanta Caves (early caves) early caves c. 2nd century BCE–1st century CE; second phase c. 460–480 CE
Arikamedu 2nd century BCE–7th/8th century CE
Beikthano c. 200 BCE – 6th century CE
Mawangdui burials c. 186–160s BCE
Karla Caves 2nd century BCE–5th century CE
Bharhut railings c. 125–100 BCE (some argue 1st century CE); later abandoned
Óc Eo c. 2nd century BCE – 7th century CE
Hegra (Mada'in Salih) 1st century BCE – Roman period; tombs mainly 1st century CE
Teotihuacan c. 100 BCE – 550 CE (centre burned); declined to c. 650 CE
Tillya Tepe graves c. 1st century BCE–1st century CE
Aksum (stelae fields) capital from c. 1st century BCE–1st century CE; great stelae c. 300–400 CE
Hathigumpha inscription, Udayagiri c. 1st century BCE (from the style of its letters)
Sarmizegetusa Regia 1st century BCE – 106 CE
Cahuachi c. 1–500 CE
Hopewell Ceremonial Earthworks (Newark) c. 1–400 CE
Pont du Gard 1st century CE; used perhaps until the 6th century
Sipán (Huaca Rajada) c. 50–700 CE
Takht-i-Bahi 1st–7th century CE
Colosseum 72–80 CE; games until the 6th century
Huacas del Sol y de la Luna c. 100–800 CE
Tiwanaku (early city) founded c. 100 CE (dates debated); peak c. 500–1000; abandoned c. 1050 CE
Hadrian's Wall begun 122 CE; Roman rule ended c. 410 CE
Pantheon, Rome c. 126 CE; a church since 609
Hashihaka Kofun mid-3rd to early 4th century CE (debated)
Kutai yūpa inscriptions second half of the 4th century CE
Mogao Caves 366 CE – 14th century
Iron pillar of Delhi c. 400 CE (reign of Chandragupta II, c. 375–415 CE)
Theodosian Walls of Constantinople c. 405–413 CE; defended the city until 1453
Gwanggaeto Stele erected 414 CE
Nalanda c. 427 CE–c. 1400 CE
Daisenryō Kofun mid-5th century CE
Yungang Grottoes c. 460–525 CE
Sigiriya royal citadel 477–495 CE; monastery until the 14th century
Lydenburg Heads site c. 500 CE
Nan Madol megalithic building from c. 1180–1200 CE; capital until c. 1628 (later than this atlas's ancient period)
Rapa Nui moai carved mostly c. 1250–1500 CE (later than this atlas's ancient period)
Wairau Bar settled c. 1288–1300 CE (later than this atlas's ancient period)
Atlantis (legend) Plato (c. 360 BCE) set it c. 9600 BCE
Kumari Kandam (legendary) legendary; no real date
Tower of Babel (legend) Legend; no date can be given