7 wonders of the world | 7 wonders of the ancient world | new 7 wonders of the world

Chichen Itza was one of the largest Maya cities and it was likely to have been one of the mythical great cities, or  Tollens  referred to in later meso American literature. The city may have had the most diverse population in the Maya world, a factor that could have contributed to the variety of architectural styles at the site. The ruins of Chichen Itza are federal property, and the site’s stewardship is maintained by Mexico’s (National Institute of Anthropology and History). The land under the monuments had been privately owned until 29 March 2010, when it was purchased by the state of Yucatan.
Scientists have found a second pyramid hidden deep within the Kukulkan pyramid at the Mayan ruins of Chichen Itza in Mexico. Researchers announced the discovery Wednesday of a pyramid 10 meters tall (33 feet) inside two other structures that make up the pyramid also known as El Castillo, or Yucatan. The history of Chichén Itzá.

Chichén Itzá (maya: (Chichén) mouth of the well; the (Itza) witches of water ) is one of the major archaeological sites of the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico, located in the municipality de Tinum, in the State of Yucatán. Important and renowned vestige of maya lacivilizacion, the main buildings that endure there correspond to the time of the decline of the maya culture referred to by archaeologists as the Postclassic period.
The massive architecture that has survived to this day and is now emblematic of the reservoir, has a clear influence Toltec. The God who presides over the site, according to Mayan mythology, is Kukulcan, Quetzalcoatl, God taken from the Pantheon of Toltec culture maya rendering. That being said, should consider that Chichén Itzá was a city or a ceremonial center, which went through various constructive eras and influences of the various peoples who occupied it and that boosted it since its foundation. The archaeological site of Chichén Itzá was inscribed on the World Heritage list by Unesco in 1988. On July 7, 2007, she was recognized as one of the new wonders of the world, by a private initiative without the support of Unesco, but with the recognition of millions of voters around the world.

The construction of reinforced concrete, of more than 1000 tons, combines engineering, architecture and sculpture, and has among its achievements the fact that nobody died in accident during the work, something that wasn’t normal at the time and with projects of this size. By the conditions of construction, on a basis in which almost didn’t fit the scaffold, with strong winds, and the structure of the statue, whose arms extend into the vacuum and the head is tilted in a challenge to engineering, Levy called the work of “Herculean”.
At the opening ceremony, at 19 h 15 min on October 12, 1931, scheduled to the monument outside lighting powered from the Italian city of Naples, where the Italian scientist Guillermo Marconi would output an electrical signal which would be relayed by an antenna located in the Rio neighborhood of Jacarepaguá, via a receiving station located in Dorchester, England. However, bad weather precluded the feat and the lighting was finally triggered directly from the local.

3. The Colosseum (Italy)

• The Colosseum was built by Emperor Vespasian, founder of the Flavian dynasty, for Titus, his successor.

• Colosseum is an elliptical building measuring 189 meters long and 156 meters wide with a base area of 24,000 m² with a height of more than 48 meter.

•  It has about 80 entrances and can accommodate 50,000 spectators.

• Construction of this huge edifice started in 72 CE and was completed in 80 CE.

•  In 847, the southern side of the Colosseum collapsed because of a devastating earthquake.

• The marble façade and some parts of the Colosseum were used for the construction of St Peter’s Basilica and later monuments.

• The Colosseum was used for gladiatorial contests and public spectacles such as animal hunts, mock sea battles, re-enactments of famous battles, executions and dramas.

• During the inaugural games of the Colosseum in 80 CE held by Titus, some 9,000 wild animals were slaughtered.

• In 107 CE, Emperor Trajan is said to have celebrated his victories in Dacia with contests involving 11,000 animals and 10,000 gladiators within 123 days.
•  It is estimated that the games played in the Colosseum for hundreds of years have taken the lives of about 500,000 people and over a million wild animals.
• ) The last gladiatorial fights occurred in 435 CE and the last animal hunts stopped in 523 CE. It was primarily due to the cost of procuring animals and gladiators and maintaining the expensive facility.

•  More than 100,000 cubic meters of travertine stone were used for the outer wall of Colosseum which was set without mortar held together by 300 tons of iron clamps.

•  Colosseum was built near the giant statue of Colossus which was part of the Nero’s Park. The current name was derived from the statue of Colossus.

•  Based on historical evidences, it shows that 200 bullock carts were used to transport marbles to the construction site.

•  The total amount of marbles used for the construction of the Colosseum was estimated at 100,000 cubic meters

•  Receiving millions of visitors every year, the Colosseum is the most famous tourist attraction of Rome.
•  Elton John, Billy Joel, Paul McCartney and Ray Charles were some of the few famous singers that performed at the Colosseum.
• The Colosseum was built in only 9 years. Began in 72AD and completed in 81AD. We struggle to build stadiums today in 9 years!
•  The Colosseum was built by 60,000 Jewish slaves.
• The real name of the Colosseum is the Flavian Amphithetre, built by the Emperor Vaspasian Flavian. The Colosseum is only a nick name given to the stadium after a statue of Nero called “the colossus of Nero” which stood along side the stadium.
•  Over 400,000 people died in the Colosseum in the 390 years it was open for entertainment.
• The Colosseum was opened for free to the Anient Romans. They were also fed when they attended events there. The famous saying was “free bread and circus to the people of Rome”.
• Festivals and games held at the Colosseum could last 100 days!
• Unbelievably, if it ever rained during a festival in the Colosseum the Ancient Romans would cover over the Colosseum with red stretched out canvas. It was roped down in 64 rows from the outside of the Colosseum.
•  Unbelievably the Ancient Romans would flood the Colosseum and have miniature ship and navel battles inside the Colosseum.
•  In the dark ages a number of fruit trees grew up through the Colosseum and for a long time no one could figure out why. But “free bread and circus” meant that people were either spitting out there seeds or throwing in their fruit.
• 10: 55,000 people could be seated inside the Colosseum. All 55,000 people could be seated in only 20 minutes. This was due to the fact that 84 entrances were open to the public, where your entrance was in direct line to your seat.

4. Great Wall of China (China)

Beginning in 324 b.c.e. three northern Chinese states with nomadic neighbors—Qin (Ch’in), Zhao (Chao), and Yan (Yen)—began to build defensive walls. After Qin unified China in 221 b.c.e. the first emperor ordered his most able general, Meng Tian, to connect these existing walls and extend them to form a unified system of defense. The result is the Great Wall of China.

For 10 years beginning in 221 b.c.e. Meng Tian commanded a force of 300,000 men (soldiers, convicts, and corvee laborers), who simultaneously campaigned against the Xiongnu (Hsiung-nu) and other nomads and built the wall. There is no detailed information about the project.

The great historian Sima Qian wrote this account in The Historical Records: “He [Meng Tian] … built a Great Wall, constructing its defiles and passes in accordance with the configurations of the terrain. It started at Lin-t’ao and extended to Liao-tung, reaching a distance of more than a myriad li. After crossing the [Yellow] River, it wound northward, touching the Yang mountains”.

Controversy remains over the length of the Qin wall. Sima Qian used the word wan, which translates as “ten thousand” or “myriad” in English; myriad was often used to designate a large but not precise number.

Regardless of its precise length, the logistics for its building was daunting, far more so than building a pyramid, because the wall advances and so the supply line is always changing.

Moreover, it extends over mountains and semideserts where the local population was sparse and the weather inclement. A vast army of support personnel was also involved, and death among the workers must have been high.

Legends that the bodies of the dead were used as wall fillers have proved untrue from excavations; however, they reflect the resentment the relentless demand for labor for the project created. Unlike the Ming wall built almost 2,000 years later of rocks and large fired bricks, the Qin wall was made of tamped earth from local materials.

The completed wall stretched from Gansu (Kansu) in the west to north of Pyongyang in present-day North Korea. The building of the wall and earlier Qin defeat of the Xiongnu also had the unintended result of solidifying and unifying the various Xiongnu tribes under their leader Maotun in 209 b.c.e.

The fall of Qin in 206 b.c.e. resulted in neglect in China’s northern defenses and Xiongnu incursions, which the first Han emperor Gaozu (Liu Bang) was unable to check. After defeat by Maotun in a major battle in 200 b.c.e., Han and Xiongnu made peace under the Heqin (Ho-chin) Treaty, which made the Great Wall their boundary.

5. Machu Picchu (Peru)

6. Petra (Jordan)

Due to its breathtaking grandeur and fabulous ruins, Petra was recognized as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985.