These GIFs Show How Famous Ancient Buildings Would Have Actually Looked Like

The glory of the Parthenon in Greece and the Luxor Temple in Egypt draws a huge number tourists every year, even in their ruined condition. It is hard to imagine what these buildings look like in their original forms. The Expedia has created some GIFs, that show the restoration of these ruins to their former glory.

The Parthenon

This is perhaps the oldest building in ancient Greece. It was built in 447 B.C. The Parthenon was sheltering a golden statue of Athena. During the Great Turkish War in 1687, the temple was damaged when an ammunition dump exploded inside the building.

Nohoch Mul Pyramid

This is the tallest of the Mayan pyramids on the Yucatan Peninsula. It also holds the rank of the second tallest Mayan pyramid in the world. The site was likely settled between 100 BC and 100 AD, however, it was not discovered by the Europeans till the 1800s. The Mayans abandoned the site around 1550.

Temple of Jupiter

The ancient city of Pompeii was destroyed by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 AD. It was rediscovered in the 16th century. This is the best guess of what the temple which was dedicated to the god of sky and thunder, probably looked like.

Hadrian’s Wall, Milecastle 39

The Hadrian’s Wall was built by the Romans across England in the 1st century. It was a way to secure the empire from would-be attackers. They built ‘milecastles’ at every one Roman mile. It might have looked something like this.

Luxor Temple

It was commissioned by Amenhotep III in 1380 BC. This Egyptian sacred site was added over the years with a pylon gateway. Most of the monumental stone structure are examples that they had a lot of extras to make it even more prominent.

The Pyramid of the Sun

This was constructed between 1st and 7th centuries AD. It was the largest building in Teotihuacan. It is considered as one of the oldest pyramids in central Mexico. It was perhaps 216 feet tall, 720 feet wide and 760 feet long.

Area Sacra di Largo Argentina

It was discovered in 1920. This ruin shows the steps and columns of Temple B. A reimagined shape of the Area Sacra di Largo might have looked like this.