Thus, in Luxor, the walls of the ancient temple, huge sculptures, and one of the obelisks in front of its entrance grow back. The ancient Parthenon regains its roof. And the temple on the Roman square Torre Argentina even "grows" entirely. The Neomam studio's project allows you to see the landmarks as they were immediately after construction and trace how their destruction occurred over time.
"Ancient ruins are a window into the past for us, allowing us to understand how people lived, what their habitats looked like, and how their daily life was arranged," says the project description. "Historians, architects, and travelers alike admire these remnants of bygone times, but looking at them, it is often difficult for the viewer to imagine how they originally looked. With virtual reconstruction, we tried to solve this problem."
Polish designer Maja Wrońska, commissioned by the Expedia website, presented in a series of GIFs how the ruins of iconic landmarks around the world might look after their full reconstruction.
Parthenon (Athens, Greece)
The Parthenon is a monument of ancient architecture, an ancient Greek temple located on the Athenian Acropolis, the main temple in ancient Athens, dedicated to the patroness of this city and all of Attica, the goddess Athena Parthenos. The Parthenon was built in 447 BC and housed a monumental gilded statue of Athena, the Greek goddess of wisdom, war, and crafts. The Great Turkish War in 1687 led to the destruction of the temple – an ammunition depot exploded inside it.
Pyramid of Nohoch Mul (Cobá, Mexico)
The tallest of the Mayan pyramids on the Yucatán Peninsula and the second largest Mayan pyramid in the world was built sometime between 100 BC and 100 AD, but Europeans discovered it only in the 1800s. The ruins of the Mayan city of Cobá, where the pyramid is located, are 40 km northwest of Tulum in Mexico. The ceremonial buildings in the city were erected during the Classic period of Mayan development. The Maya themselves abandoned these lands around the 1550s – after the arrival of Spanish conquistadors.
Temple of Jupiter (Pompeii, Italy)
The ancient city of Pompeii on the Bay of Naples was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD, and its ruins were only found in the 16th century. One can only guess what the grand Temple of Jupiter, the god of thunder and lightning, looked like in its heyday. The main temple of Pompeii stood in the center of the northern side of the forum. Built in 150 BC, the temple was severely damaged during the earthquake of 62 AD.
Milecastle 39, Hadrian's Wall (United Kingdom)
Hadrian's Wall is the most outstanding monument of antiquity in the United Kingdom. It is a defensive fortification 117 km long, built by the Romans under Emperor Hadrian in 122-128 AD to prevent raids by the Picts and Brigantes from the north. It crosses northern England from the Irish Sea (Solway Firth) to the North Sea (Segedunum fort on the River Tyne) near the border with Scotland. The wall connected "milecastles" (Roman forts), the distance between which was approximately one Roman mile (about 1478 meters).
Luxor Temple (Egypt)
Luxor Temple – the ruins of the central temple of Amun-Ra, on the right bank of the Nile, in the southern part of Thebes, within the modern city of Luxor. The temple was built by order of Amenhotep III in 1380 BC. The gate with pylons, a large open courtyard, and even a street adorned with sphinxes – one of the most monumental structures of its time stood out not only for its size but also for its beauty.
Pyramid of the Sun (Teotihuacán, Mexico)
The Pyramid of the Sun is one of the oldest pyramids in central Mexico, built in the center of the city of Teotihuacán, 40 km from modern Mexico City. It is located on the Avenue of the Dead between the Pyramid of the Moon and the Citadel in the shadow of the massive Cerro Gordo mountain and is part of a large temple complex. Even today, the pyramid has quite impressive dimensions – its height is 64.01 meters.
Temple on Torre Argentina Square (Rome, Italy)
Torre Argentina is a square in Rome, named after the Torre Argentina tower built in 1503. The square contains the ruins of four temples from the 4th-2nd centuries BC. They were discovered in the 1920s during excavations. Archaeologists have not yet determined to whom the temples were dedicated, so they are designated by the letters A, B, C, and D. At Torre Argentina, where the ruins are located, Gaius Julius Caesar was killed in 44 BC.