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Tomb of Seti I

Tomb of Seti I  The tomb of Seti I, also known as KV17, is located in the Valley of the Kings. The pharaoh Seti I died in 1279 BC. His tomb was discovered by the archaeologist and explorer Giovanni Belzoni in 1817. Coordinates 25.740031, 32.601998 Description Seti I had many buildings built, which included the Temple of Seti I in Abydos. The tomb KV17 consists of 17 chambers, corridors, and side rooms and is considered one of the largest. There is a well near the entrance of the tomb; the corridor descends into the tomb and is designed similarly to other tombs. Decorations are found throughout most of the tomb. The tomb and side chambers are on the level of the well, with a further corridor that ends in a room at a lower level. (The measurements used are given in official documents) Total area of tomb: 649.04 sq m / 2373 sq cubits Burial chamber width: 13.19 ft / 25.22 cubits Distance to burial chamber: 290 ft / 88.382 m / 169 cubits Distance to the end of the tomb: 570 ft / 173.74...

La Venta

La Venta La Venta is a pre-Columbian archaeological site of the Olmec civilization located in the present-day Mexican state of Tabasco.  The Olmec were one of the first civilizations to develop in the Americas, and it was thought their spread through 1800 bc through to 200 ad was said to influence Mesoamerica culture . There are a number of Colossal Heads on site, some of which have been moved to the Parque-Museo La Venta . Coordinates 18.103490,-94.040972 Description There are two ways or possibilities of describing La Venta, (1) a few sculpted heads and various stones remain of a long distance civilization who moved for whatever reason, (2) only a few sculpted head and various stones were ever produced with the pyramid being roughly shaped from the landscape following the only pyramids existing in 1800 bc, that of the Pyramids of Giza . Analysis It has been shown that there was a time when the Mesoamericas didn't follow European or Middl...

Great Pyramid of Cholula

Great Pyramid of Cholula The Great Pyramid of Cholula, also known as Tlachihualtepetl , is a complex located in Cholula, Puebla, Mexico.  It has the largest volume of any pyramid that exists in the world today. The adobe brick pyramid stood 55m tall (180 ft) above the surrounding plain with a base of 450m. Thought to have been dedicated to the god  Quetzalcoatl , with building starting in the 3rd century bc and continuing in stages until 9th century ad . The architectural style of the building was linked closely to that of  Teotihuacan  in the  Valley of Mexico , although influence from the  Gulf Coast is also evident, especially from  El Tajín . Coordinates 19.058022,-98.302668 Description From it's layout it was suggested that the pyramid was approached by steps three layers high followed by a seven layer structure, in reality only the base layer of the seven exists with a side elevation of three l...

Easter Aquhorthies Stone Circle

Easter Aquhorthies Stone Circle  The Easter Aquhorthies stone circle is located near  Inverurie  in northeast Scotland . It is considered as one of the few that still have their full complement of stones and the only one that has all its stones still standing without having been re-erected. It consists of a ring of nine stones, eight of which are grey granite and one red jasper. Two more grey granite stones flank a recumbent of red granite. The circle is particularly notable for its builders' use of  polychromy  in the stones, with the reddish ones situated on the SSW side and the grey ones opposite. The circle's surroundings were landscaped in the late 19th century and currently sit within a small, fenced and walled enclosure. A stone dyke , known as a roundel , was built around the circle some time between 1847-1867 before  being brought to wider public attention in the 1870s and 1880s by a series of paintings , drawings and descripti...

Torre del Mangia

Torre del Mangia  The Torre del Mangia is a tower in the town of  Siena in the  Tuscany  region of Italy. It was built between 1338-1348 ad and is situated by the  Piazza del Campo . At 102 m it is the second tallest after Cremona's Torrazzo 112 m with the  Asinelli tower  in  Bologna  at 97 m being third tallest, it was also designed to be taller than Giotto's Campanile at 85m in Florence . Shortly after construction, it was fitted with a clock. It is part of the Palazzo Pubblico , a palace, who's construction began in 1297 ad to serve as the seat of the  Republic of Siena 's government. Siena, like other Tuscan hill towns, was first settled in the time of the  Etruscans  900-400 bc when it was inhabited by a tribe called the Saina . The town of Siena has multiple medieval buildings, including the cathedral Duomo di Siena built between 1215-1263 ad and the church Bas...

Coba

Coba  Coba is an ancient Mayan city on the Yucatán Peninsula, located in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo.  The site contains a number of buildings, with the largest known as Nohoch Mul, directly north, which is a raised area of about 120m. The bulk of Coba's major construction seems to have been made in the middle and late Classic period 500-900 ad, although further builds were constructed into the Post-Classic upto the 15th century, the ball court is in the best condition and may fit this description. The site features sacbeobs, which are raised platform walkways. The Nohoch Mul pyramid is also known as the Ixmoja pyramid. Buildings Nohoch Mul pyramid (45° southwest, 42m) (7 layers) Ball court (38° northeast) (1 layer) Observatorio Astronómico de Cobá (34° northwest, 10m) (5 layers) Coordinates 20.496133,-87.720619 In between these three buildings, a triangle can be formed like from other builds, the angles are 101°/72°/7° the spac...

Xochicalco

Xochicalco Xochicalco is a pre-Columbian archaeological site in Miacatlán Municipality in the Mexican state of Morelos.  The site was first occupied by 200 bc but did not develop into an urban centre until the Epiclassic period 700-900 ad. Nearly all the standing architecture at the site was built at this time. At it's peak the city may have had a population of up to 20000 people. The site was said to be destroyed around 900 ad and later colonised with Nahuatl-speaking Tlahuica people. Teotihuacan and Maya art are abundant and may have been included from 1200 ad onwards. Coordinates 18.803524,-99.297428 Description The northern buildings are at 15°, the western buildings at 12° with the southern buildings at 0°. At least two ball courts exists, one aligned at 12° and one at 0°, the largest building is the Pyramid of the Stele and Chamber of the Scarifice which is on a six layer platform and has seven layers. In front of the Pyramid of the S...

Tikal Temples

Tikal Temples Tikal Temples are a group of major structures at Tikal. This is one of the largest cities and archaeological sites of the pre-Columbian Maya civilization. It is located in the Petén Basin region of northern Guatemala. Tikal Temple I on the site is also known as the Temple of the Great Jaguar. It is a typically Petén-styled limestone stepped pyramid structure that is dated to approximately 732 ad. Coordinates 17.221118,-89.625168 On site, there are the following buildings Mundo Perdido or The Lost World, Seven Temples, Palacio de las Acanaladuras, and North Acropolis, Tikal. The temples are numbered up to 5 as Temple of the Great Jaguar (temple 1), Temple of the Masks (temple 2) Tikal Temple III (temple 3), Templo de la Sepiente Bicefala (temple 4) and Tikal Temple V (temple 5). Temple angles and separation distances Temple I is at 3° Temple II is at 12° and 255 ft Temple III is at 15° and 500 ft Temple IV ...