10 Incredible Unearthed Ancient Megastructures

Much of archaeology involved digging for small artifacts to piece together a picture of life in the past, but occasionally, much bigger finds occur. When enormous ancient ruins are discovered, it’s always exciting for those who wish to know our history, and these sorts of discoveries have been made all over the world.

10 The Temple Of Pan

Archaeologists excavating the ancient city of Hippos in Northern Israel found a large bronze mask depicting the Greek god Pan. Additionally, an enormous entrance to a large stone building was found, and it’s believed to be the remains of a temple compound dedicated to Pan. The temple compound itself dates to the time of the Roman emperor Hadrian (around AD 117–138) and was located just outside the city limits, similar to other locations dedicated to Pan. Forbidden Archeology: ... Richard L. Thompson Best Price: $14.66 Buy New $25.52 (as of 06:15 UTC - Details)

Pan was the mischievous half-man, half-goat deity who represented shepherds, and celebrations for the god were known to get out of hand. Often, worship took the form of ecstatic rituals including drinking wine and dancing nude. Due to the nature of the rituals for the wild god, celebrations were held outside the city in rustic settings like a cave or a forest, but a temple outside the city could also work.

9 The Petra Monument

Petra has been an important archaeological site for centuries, but an entirely new discovery has recently been made in the area—a massive monument that was found by satellites. A raised platform the length of an Olympic-sized swimming pool, it has no known parallels to any other structure in Petra. The site, now a tourist attraction, was once a bustling caravan city at the crossroads of the world.

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Since Petra was first mapped in 1812, ancient structures have been found in what was its urban core, but this monument had remained obscure until now. When it still stood, the monument would have been built as a raised platform with a small building on top surrounded by a massive facade. Pottery found near the monument indicates that it was built during the city’s early years as part of a public building program. The Hidden History of ... Michael A. Cremo Best Price: $4.69 Buy New $10.40 (as of 05:10 UTC - Details)

8 The Goliath Gates

The Bible makes frequent mentions of the Philistines throughout the Old Testament, but proof of the Philistines’ existence remained elusive for years. In 2015, an excavation in modern-day Israel uncovered the massive gates that would have been the entrance to the famed biblical metropolis of Gath. The gates were dubbed “the Goliath Gates” due to their enormous size.

During biblical times, Gath would have been one of the largest cities in the region, so it isn’t much of a stretch to believe that it would have been an intimidating regional power. The ruins of Gath have been investigated on and off since around 1899, but it was only in recent years that the sheer size of the city has been recognized. The newly unearthed monumental gates illustrate even more clearly how impressive Gath once was.

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