Chichen Itza
Facts:
·
Located
in Yukatan, Mexico.
·
Remains
of the Mayan civilization who lived around 600 - 900 AD.
·
The
site is made of hundreds of paved roads and dozens of stone buildings.
·
Several
of the buildings have been restored.
·
The
stone buildings have a large variety of archaeological styles, indicating that
the city may have had the most diverse Mayan population in the world.
·
The
site covers an area of at least 5sqkm.
Christ The Redeemer
Facts:
·
Located
in Tijuca Forest National Park in Rio de Jeniero.
·
It
stands atop Corcovado mountain.
·
The
tallest part stands at 130 feet tall.
·
It
weighs 635 tonnes.
·
The
statue is made of reinforced concrete and soapstone.
·
Construction
too place from 1922 to 1931.
·
Restoration
has had to be carried out several times due to weather and occasionally
vandalism. In 2008 the fingers, head and eyebrows were damaged after being
struck by lightening during a ferocious electrical storm.
Colosseum
Facts:
·
Located
in the center of Rome, Italy.
·
It
is an elliptical amphitheater and is the largest ever built in/by the Roman
empire.
·
Construction
started in 72 AD and was completed in 80 AD.
·
When
opened it could seat 50,000 people.
·
It
hosted gladiatorial contests, public spectacles such as mock sea battles,
animal hunts, executions, re-enactments of famous battles and drama's based on
classical mythology.
·
The
majority of damage that has happened to the Colosseum is from earthquakes,
however some is due to stone robbers.
The Great Wall of China
Facts:
·
Located,
as you may have thought, in China.
·
Has
been around for nearly 2500 years.
·
The
wall is around 3,460km long, with 2,860km of branches and spurs.
·
It
is the longest man made structure in the world.
·
The
wall was built by several Chinese dynasties to protect China's northern
boundary.
·
The
wall ranges from 15 - 30m wide.
·
The
highest point of the wall is in Beijing, at Heita mountain reaching 5,033 feet.
Machu Picchu
Facts:
·
Located
in the mountain range of the Urubamba valley, in Peru, 70km northwest of Cuzco
the former capital of the Inca civilization.
·
It
rest over 8,000 feet above see level.
·
Believed
to have been made in the 15th century. It was then rediscovered by Hiram
Bingham in 1911.
·
When
Bingham rediscovered it the jungle had literally swallowed it up, hence the
nickname, The Lost City.
·
Some
of the building blocks weigh up to 50 tonnes.
·
Despite
the weight, the blocks are precisely slotted together with such precision that
the mortarless joints will not even permit the insertion of a thin knife blade.
Petra
Facts:
·
Located
on the slopes of mount Hor, in the Arabah section of Jordan.
·
Petra
means ''rock'' in Greek and Arabic.
·
It
was discovered by a Swiss explorer, Johann Ludwig Burckhardt in 1812.
·
It's
said to have been around from before 106 AD.
·
Being
made mostly of red sandstone, and with it's beauty and age, Petra earned the
title ''A rose red city half as old as time''.
·
Petra
was once a thriving trading center and capital of the Nabataean empire.
·
Several
scenes from Indiana Jones and the last Crusade were filmed
here.
Taj Mahal
Facts:
·
Located
in Agra, India.
·
It
was built as a mausoleum where the Mughal Emperor known as Shah Jahan was to
bury his wife Mumtaz Mahal.
·
Construction
began in 1632 and it was completed in 1653.
·
The
architectural style is a combination of Persian, Islamic and Indian.
·
20,000
workers helped in the build.
·
28
varieties of semi-precious and precious stones were used to adorn the Taj for
an exquisite finish.
·
During
the Indian rebellion of 1857, many of these stones were ripped of its wall by
the British.
The Honorary
Candidate
The
Great Pyramid are considered a natural wonder, so when the Egyptian government
heard that it would have to compete with such modern man-made objects such as
the Sydney Opera House (even though it didn't make the cut), a compromise was
met and it was named as the honorary candidate after the seven (relatively)
modern wonders of the world.
The Great Pyramid of Giza
Facts:
·
The
particular pyramid is the the Great Pyramid of Giza, the largest of the three
in the Giza Necropolis.
·
It
is located in what is now El Giza, Egypt.
·
The
pyramid is estimated to have some 2,300,000 stone blocks.
·
The
blocks range in weight with most generally 2 - 30 tonnes, however a few weigh
upwards of 70 tonnes.
·
The
base of the pyramid cover 592,000 square feet.
·
The
average stone on the lowest level is 5 feet high, long and deep.
·
The
four sides are indented to a very precise degree and was the only pyramid built
this way, making it the only 8 sided pyramid. This effect is only visible from
the air.
The Other 14
Finalists
On
the website of the link below, more information on when the next announcement
of the seven man-made wonders of the world can be found. The link itself will
take you to the other 14 finalists of the last poll. So you can see if any of
your guesses got down to the last 21!