Ancient Palaces, structures & cities that are now gone

[the spliff fairy]

Yep, Alexandria went through many rises and falls in population, as did all the ancient cities - Rome, Athens, Alexandria, Constantinople, depending on regime and ethnic/ religious tolerance, not to mention prolongued disaster.

According to the only studies (Modelski 2003) that claim Rome ever reached 1 million, the city wasn't the first - Alexandria pipped it by 200 years in 100BC, Rome following in 100AD.

Other historians (such as Chandler and Fox) believe the 1 million mark only came in 700AD in Chang'An, China or 900 in Baghdad, and that neither Rome or Alexandria ever reached that size.

[travelworld123]

Weiyang Palace (China) - Another grand palace located in Xi'an, this was the biggest palace ever on earth (about 6.7 times bigger than the Forbidden City) before it was burnt down by invades.

Today, nothing remains and it is just an open field.





today:
from: http://history.cultural-china.com/en/52History6236.html

[frashp2]

ABsolutely staggering that many ancient structures are now "gone".



Most of those ruins are closed today.

They shouldn't have been and won't come back any more . . .

Is it meaningful to keep them still?

[thekh]

More info:

Angkor Wat
This is probably the original look of the temple.



The bas-relief at Angkor Wat



The bas-relief is one of the longest one in the world. Back then it used to cover with gold.

Angkor:
The center of Angkor with over hundred canals connected to the city.

[travelworld123]

Originally Posted by thekh

More info:

Angkor Wat
This is probably the original look of the temple.

wow, great picture, i've always wanted to see an impression of what ancient ruins would of looked like in it's time. where did you get this pic?

Anymore pictures/paintings of similar such as Ayutthaya etc...?

[travelworld123]

actually don't worry about where you got it, I found it here:

http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/20...gkor-animation

[the spliff fairy]

Originally Posted by travelworld123

Anymore pictures/paintings of similar such as Ayutthaya etc...?

This is Ayutthaya in 1665, population over 1 million (and possibly the worlds largest city) before the Burmese armies laid waste to it all.

Painted by 17th Century French and Thai artists:

[the spliff fairy]

Originally Posted by thekh

Angkor:
The center of Angkor with over hundred canals connected to the city.

Imagine what this would have looked like with the wooden buildings.
Angkor was the largest ancient city ever, some say with a population that may have been as high as 2 million.
The fact Angkor Wat to this day is still the worlds largest religious building says alot.

[travelworld123]

Originally Posted by the spliff fairy

Imagine what this would have looked like with the wooden buildings.
Angkor was the largest ancient city ever, some say with a population that may have been as high as 2 million.
The fact Angkor Wat to this day is still the worlds largest religious building says alot.

go here: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/20...gkor-animation

and click on 'Angkor in 3D'. It shows various short clips of what the Angkor region would of looked like in 3D moving clips and sounds. It really is great!
It's also where that above picture of what Angkor Wat would of looked like came from.

[the spliff fairy]

wow, thanks for that

[frashp2]

Originally Posted by travelworld123

go here: http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/20...gkor-animation

and click on 'Angkor in 3D'. It shows various short clips of what the Angkor region would of looked like in 3D moving clips and sounds. It really is great!
It's also where that above picture of what Angkor Wat would of looked like came from.

Bit stupid and pointless question but you are sure it was.

Someone tried to change the rendering perhaps?

[travelworld123]

Originally Posted by frashp2

Bit stupid and pointless question but you are sure it was.

Someone tried to change the rendering perhaps?

say again?

[minneapolis-uptown]

Here in Minneapolis the workers building a parking ramp uncovered ruins of One of
the original mills of the city and they just kept on building

[travelworld123]

Hangzhou Imperial Palace (China) -

"The historical remains of the Southern Song Dynasty imperial palace lie at the foot of Phoenix Mountain in Shangcheng district of Hangzhou. The former palace started from Fengshan Gate in the east, stretched to Phoenix Mountain in the west, Tiaozhou Bay in the south and Wansong Mountain in the north.

Construction of the palace took more than 100 years. Its architecture was well known for its elaborate building techniques and precise styles.

The stunning architectural wonders ended in 1276, the first year of the reign of Emperor Jingyan, when troops of the Yuan Dynasty (1271-1368) attacked Hangzhou and burnt most of the palace buildings." (source: http://www.whatsonningbo.com/ningbo-info-31.html)

layout





(photos from ChinaHistoryForum)

[alheaine]

I saw a CNN video when the earthquake flattened most of Bam..

[_00_deathscar]

Originally Posted by the spliff fairy

Yep, Alexandria went through many rises and falls in population, as did all the ancient cities - Rome, Athens, Alexandria, Constantinople, depending on regime and ethnic/ religious tolerance, not to mention prolongued disaster.

According to the only studies (Modelski 2003) that claim Rome ever reached 1 million, the city wasn't the first - Alexandria pipped it by 200 years in 100BC, Rome following in 100AD.

Other historians (such as Chandler and Fox) believe the 1 million mark only came in 700AD in Chang'An, China or 900 in Baghdad, and that neither Rome or Alexandria ever reached that size.

So for 2000 years we haven't yet moved on from debating about city/metro population. So much for progress

[travelworld123]

Karakorum (Mongolia) - Karakorum was the capital of Mongol Empire as well as the Northern Yuan Dynasty. Today there is pretty much nothing with a few ruined paved roads, rocks etc...

Artists impression of what it may of looked like:




(both images by Yushan Arts)

Today:




image hosted on flickr


Modern reconstruction of the Silver Tree Fountain

(images from Wikipedia)

Map of the area

[fan_of_doraemon]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ieEW...layer_embeddedThis is 3D film about IMPERIAL PALACE HUE! welcome to Hue! , IMPERIAL CITY Digital Reconstruction of the Hue Imperial City HD" i don't know how to uplound this clip on this wed! so you can see link!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ieEW...layer_embedded

[tpe]

The Thone Room of the Magnaura, at the Great Palace, Constantinople (10th century).


From the account of the embassy led by Liutprand of Cremona to Constantine VII:

In front of the Emperor’s throne was set up a tree of gilded bronze, its branches filled with birds, likewise made of bronze gilded over, and these emitted cries appropriate to their different species. Now the Emperor’s throne was made in such a cunning manner that at one moment it was down on the ground, while at another it rose higher and was seen to be up in the air. This throne was of immense size and was, as it were, guarded by lions, made either of bronze or wood covered with gold, which struck the ground with their tails and roared with open mouth and quivering tongue...


http://www.villasphendone.com/magnaura.htm

[travelworld123]

Originally Posted by fan_of_doraemon

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ieEW...layer_embeddedThis is 3D film about IMPERIAL PALACE HUE! welcome to Hue! , IMPERIAL CITY Digital Reconstruction of the Hue Imperial City HD" i don't know how to uplound this clip on this wed! so you can see link!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ieEW...layer_embedded

wow, that is incredible. I really hope the restoration project is successful.