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| STONEHENGE |
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| Stonehenge was once a beautiful ring made of stones on the plains of Salisbury, England. The large blue stones were probably brought from Wales. Part of the stone structure was built by people who established their principal settlements between 1300 and 1600 BC. Stonehenge was probably constructed as a temple of sun worship. Some also think that it was used as an astrological calendar, but no one knows for sure. Some legends say that a wizard named Merlin brought it by magic. Of course, that is just a legend. |
| Around Stonehenge is a circular ditch, 104 meters. (350 feet.) in diameter and 1.5 meters. (5 feet.) deep. John Aubrey discovered that within the ditch is a ring of 56 pits. The pits are known as Aubrey Holes. |
| In 55 BC. and AD. 410, Stonehenge was desecrated by the Romans. Some stones in Stonehenge have fallen, such as in 1797, west of the Alter Stones, two more uprights and their lintels fell. Two more uprights and their lintels fell in 1900. In 1958, all of the fallen stones were raised in a ceremony. In 1964, Gerold S. Hawkins, a U.S. astronomer, found that when Stonehenge was used, it could have been used to predict the autumnal and vernal equinoxes. Stonehenge is still standing, but is in ruins. Stonehenge is a great Middle Aged Wonder of the world. |
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| The Porcelain Tower of Nanking |
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| The Porcelain Tower of Nanking (also pronounced Nanjing) was located in Nanking, China. The Tower was around 260 feet. tall. It had hanging, porcelain-tiled eaves with nine octagonal stories. The Porcelain Tower of Nanking was built in the early 15th century. Later it was destroyed by the T`ai P`ing rebels. |
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| The Great Wall of China |
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| By the decision of the emperor, the Great Wall of China was built in the third century BC. Its job was to defend northern China from the Huns. From central Asia, the Huns were fierce horsemen who threatened their Chinese neighbors. Completion of the Great Wall took many years. However, the hard work paid off. The Great Wall of China is about 25 feet high and 1,500 miles long! It is made of layers of earth, covered in burned brick or plaster. Over the top of the Wall is a roadway sixteen feet wide, which is broad enough for six horsemen to drive away the enemy. If you were to walk on top of the Wall, every now and then, you would come upon a small tower. These towers are watch towers. If there were to be any sign of intruders, guards would light torches, and the guards at nearby towers would do the same. It would be like dominoes. This would warn the guards to be alert and to chase off any intruder if they saw one. |
| Still, after 2,000 years, the Great Wall of China is the largest man-made object visible from outer space. I think that the Great Wall of China is a wonderful wonder of the world! |
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| The Catacombs of Alexandria |
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| The Catacombs of Alexandria are located are on the edge of the Libyan Desert. Christians cut into the soft tufa rock in the 200`s and 300`s. In case you are wondering what Catacombs are, they were once used for burial places. They are underground passageways and galleries that cover about 600 acres. When more space was needed, more galleries were built under the first. |
| In the Catacombs of Alexandria, Christians hid from the Romans. The Roman law held burial places sacred, which means they would not disturb the Catacombs. Christians hid because they were put in jail because of thier beliefs. |
| In the 7th century the Arabs badly damaged the Catacombs. It was destroyed in the 9th century by the Turks. The Temple for Serapis marked the entrance of the Ancient Catacombs. Today, the famous temple of Serapis only has one of its four hundred pillars remaining. |
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| The Colosseum of Rome |
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| The Colosseum of Rome was a large open air theater. It was built for the Romans` entertainment. It was constructed after the death of Nero Yespasian, around 80 AD. It seated fifty thousand spectators on its four galleries. It also contained caves and vaults for wild animals that the men fought. The Colosseum, for entertainment, consisted of gory spectacles. For an example, one fight lasted 123 days. The Colosseum had many combats between gladiators. Sometimes men fought wild animals. |
| The Colosseum is in the shape of an oval. It is 617 by 512 feet. A huge, canvas awning over part of the Colosseum protected spectators from the sun. The tunnels and chambers beneath the arena was like a maze. |
| Slaves and prisoners fought in the Colosseum. If they won their battle, they were set free. If they lost, they were to be killed. For their beliefs, Christians were thrown to the starving lions. They would get in a group and pray before the lions killed them. All of the "games" took place during the time of Roman Empire. |
| The Colosseum of Rome is the most famous entertainment building in the world. Now it is in ruins, but it is the largest monument left of the Imperial Roman Empire. It was still in use more than four hundred years later. |
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| The Leaning Tower of Pisa |
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| The Leaning Tower of Pisa is located in Pisa, Italy. One reason it leans is because the foundation was built in unstable soil. Another reason it leans is because the foundation is not deep enough. The Leaning Tower of Pisa was started in 1173 AD. It was constructed to be a church tower. As soon as the first level was completed in 1170`s, it started to lean south. In 1350, when the top level was completed, it still leaned. |
| Over the years, it began sinking into the ground. Even though the Leaning Tower of Pisa is short for a tower, it used to be taller. While being constructed, pillars were built taller in the north than the south to try to stop the leaning. But, the pillars had no effect. |
| The Leaning Tower of Pisa leans one sixteenth of an inch more each year. It will probably collapse in about 170 years from now at the rate it is going. The tower is still sinking into the earth today. Because of the sinking and leaning, it is now only 179 feet tall. Today the Leaning Tower of Pisa leans by 14 feet. |
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| These magnificent wonders of the world were all constructed by man. It is amazing how, without the technology that we have today, man was able to create these fascinating structures. Some were made of heavy stones, some stretched on for miles, and some were dug deep into the earth. To me, all of these wonders are magnificent, beautiful and fascinating. |
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