Site type guide
Ancient City
Crawlable taxonomy page generated from the current site detail schema and used in the internal linking graph.
Traditions represented here
9 sites
Browse this type across countries, traditions, and sacred landscapes.
Aphrodisias
Karacasu, Aydın, Turkey
Aphrodisias is a ancient city of sacred significance. Approximate coordinates: 37.70918, 28.72357. Attributes: built, cultural, archaeological. Tradition: Hellenistic Greek. Associated figure: Aphrodite. Mythological context: Greek Mythology. Recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Aphrodisias (; Ancient Greek: Ἀφροδισιάς, romanized: Aphrodisiás) was a Hellenistic Greek city in the historic Caria cultural region of western Asia Minor, today s Anatolia in Turkey. It is located near the modern village of Geyre, about 100 km (62 mi) east/inland from the coast of the Aegean Sea, and 230 km (140 mi) southeast of İzmir. Aphrodisias was named after Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love, who had here her unique cult image, the Aphrodite of Aphrodisias. According to the Suda, a Byzantine encyclopedic compilation, before the city became known as Aphrodisias (c. 3rd century BC) it had three previous Greek names: Lelégōn Pólis (Λελέγων πόλις, City of the Leleges ), Megálē Pólis (Μεγάλη Πόλις, Great City ), and Ninóē (Νινόη). Sometime before 640, in the Late Antique period when it was within the Byzantine Empire, the city was renamed Stauropolis (Σταυρούπολις, City of the Cross ). In 2017, it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage Site list. Located in Karacasu, Ege Bölgesi, Turkey.
Bagan
Nyaung-U, Mandalay, Myanmar
Bagan is a ancient city of sacred significance. Approximate coordinates: 21.16796, 94.86690. Attributes: built, cultural, archaeological, pilgrimage. Tradition: Buddhism. Recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Bagan ( bə-GAN; Burmese: ပုဂံ Băgam [bəɡàɰ̃]; formerly Pagan) is an ancient city and a UNESCO World Heritage Site in the Mandalay Region of Myanmar. From the 9th to 13th centuries, the city was the capital of the Pagan Kingdom, the first kingdom that unified the regions that would later constitute Myanmar. During the kingdom s height between the 11th and 13th centuries, more than 10,000 Buddhist temples, pagodas and monasteries were constructed in the Bagan plains alone, of which the remains of over 2200 temples and pagodas survive. The Bagan Archaeological Zone is a main attraction for the country s nascent tourism industry. Located in ညောင်ဦး, မန္တလေးတိုင်း, မြန်မာ.
Coba
Cobá, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Coba is a ancient city of sacred significance. Approximate coordinates: 20.48668, -87.73836. Attributes: built, cultural, archaeological, ceremonial. Tradition: Maya. Mythological context: Mesoamerican. Coba (Spanish: Cobá) is an ancient Maya city on the Yucatán Peninsula, located in the Mexican state of Quintana Roo. The site is the nexus of the largest network of stone causeways of the ancient Maya world, and it contains many engraved and sculpted stelae that document ceremonial life and important events of the Late Classic Period (AD 600–900) of Mesoamerican civilization. The adjacent modern village bearing the same name, reported a population of 1,278 inhabitants in the 2010 Mexican federal census. The ruins of Coba lie 47 km (approx. 29 mi) northwest of Tulum, in the State of Quintana Roo, Mexico. The geographical coordinates of Coba Group (main entrance for tourist area of the archaeological site) are North 19° 29.6’ and West 87° 43.7’. The archaeological zone is reached by a two-kilometer branch from the asphalt road connecting Tulum with Nuevo Xcán (a community of Lázaro Cárdenas, another municipality of Quintana Roo) on the Valladolid to Cancún highway. Coba is located around two lagoons, Lake Coba and Lake Macanxoc. A series of elevated stone and plaster roads radiate from the central site to various smaller sites near and far. These are known by the Maya term sacbe (plural sacbeob) or white road. Some of these causeways go east, and the longest runs over 100 kilometres (62 mi) westward to the site of Yaxuna. The site contains a group of large temple pyramids known as the Nohoch Mul, the tallest of which, Ixmoja, is some 42 metres (138 ft) in height. Ixmoja is among the tallest pyramids on the Yucatán peninsula, exceeded by Calakmul at 45 metres (148 ft). Coba was estimated to have had some 50,000 inhabitants (and possibly significantly more) at its peak of civilization, and the built up area extends over some 80 km2. The site was occupied by a sizable agricultural population by the first century. The bulk of Coba s major construction seems to have been made in the middle and late Classic period, about 500 to 900 AD, with most of the dated hieroglyphic inscriptions from the 7th century (see Mesoamerican Long Count calendar). However, Coba remained an important site in the Post-Classic era and new temples were built and old ones kept in repair until at least the 14th century, possibly as late as the arrival of the Spanish. Cobá lies in the tropics, subject to alternating wet and dry seasons which, on average, differ somewhat from those in the rest of the northern peninsula, where the rainy season generally runs from June through October and the dry season from November through May. At Cobá, rain can occur in almost any time of the year, but there is a short dry period in February and March, and a concentration of rain from September through November. Located in Tulum, Quintana Roo, Mexico.
Ephesus
Selçuk, Aegean Region, Turkey
Ephesus is a ancient city of sacred significance. Approximate coordinates: 37.91240, 27.33276. Attributes: built, cultural, archaeological, pilgrimage. Tradition: Ancient Greek. Associated figure: Artemis. Mythological context: Ancient Greek Mythology. Recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Ephesus (; Ancient Greek: Ἔφεσος, romanized: Éphesos; Turkish: Efes; may ultimately derive from Hittite: 𒀀𒉺𒀀𒊭, romanized: Apāša) was an ancient Greek city on the coast of Ionia, in present-day Selçuk in İzmir Province, Turkey. It was built in the 10th century BC on the site of Apasa, the former Arzawan capital, by Attic and Ionian Greek colonists. During the Classical Greek era, it was one of twelve cities that were members of the Ionian League. The city came under the control of the Roman Republic in 129 BC. The city was famous in its day for the nearby Temple of Artemis (completed around 550 BC), which has been designated one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. Its many monumental buildings included the Library of Celsus and a theatre capable of holding 24,000 spectators. Ephesus was a recipient city of one of the Pauline epistles and one of the seven churches of Asia addressed in the Book of Revelation. The Gospel of John may have been written there, and it was the site of several 5th-century Christian Councils (Council of Ephesus). The city was destroyed by the Goths in 263. Although it was afterwards rebuilt, its importance as a port and commercial centre declined as the harbour was slowly silted up by the Küçükmenderes River. In 614, it was partially destroyed by an earthquake. Today, the ruins of Ephesus are a favourite international and local tourist attraction, being accessible from Adnan Menderes Airport and from the resort town Kuşadası. In 2015, the ruins were designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Located in Selçuk, Ege Bölgesi, Turkey.
Great Zimbabwe
Nemanwa Growth Point, Masvingo Province, Zimbabwe
Great Zimbabwe is a ancient city of sacred significance. Approximate coordinates: -20.27133, 30.93313. Attributes: built, cultural, archaeological, ceremonial. Tradition: Shona. Recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Great Zimbabwe was a city in the south-eastern hills of the modern country of Zimbabwe, near Masvingo. It was settled from 1000 AD, and served as the capital of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe from the 13th century. It is the largest stone structure in precolonial Southern Africa. Major construction on the city began in the 11th century until the 15th century, and it was abandoned in the 16th or 17th century. The edifices were erected by ancestors of the Shona people, currently located in Zimbabwe and nearby countries. The stone city spans an area of 7.22 square kilometres (2.79 sq mi) and could have housed up to 18,000 people at its peak, giving it a population density of approximately 2,500 inhabitants per square kilometre (6,500/sq mi). The Zimbabwe state centred on it likely covered 50,000 km² (19,000 sq mi). It is recognised as a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. The site of Great Zimbabwe is composed of the Hill Complex, the Valley Complex, and the Great Enclosure (constructed at different times), and contained area for commoner housing within the perimeter walls. There is disagreement on the functions of the complexes among scholars. Some consider them to have been residences for the royals and elites at different periods of the site, while others infer them to have had separate functions. The Great Enclosure, with its 11 m (36 ft) high dry stone walls (that is, constructed without mortar), was built during the 13th and 14th centuries, and likely served as the royal residence, with demarcated public spaces for rituals. The earliest document mentioning the Great Zimbabwe ruins was in 1531 by Vicente Pegado, captain of the Portuguese garrison of Sofala on the coast of modern-day Mozambique, who recorded it as Symbaoe. The first confirmed visits by Europeans were in the late 19th century, with investigations of the site starting in 1871. Great Zimbabwe and surrounding sites were looted by European antiquarians between the 1890s and 1920s. Some later studies of the monument were controversial, as the white government of Rhodesia pressured archaeologists to deny its construction by black Africans. Its African origin only became consensus by the 1950s. Great Zimbabwe has since been adopted as a national monument by the Zimbabwean government, and the modern independent state was named after it. The word great distinguishes the site from the many smaller ruins, known as zimbabwes , spread across the Zimbabwe Highveld. There are around 200 such sites in Southern Africa, such as Bumbusi in Zimbabwe and Manyikeni in Mozambique, with monumental, mortarless walls. Located in Masvingo, Zimbabwe.
Lato
Agios Nikolaos Municipal Unit, Region of Crete, Greece
Lato is a ancient city of sacred significance. Approximate coordinates: 35.17904, 25.65529. Attributes: built, cultural, archaeological. Tradition: Ancient Greek. Lato (Ancient Greek: Λατώ, romanized: Latṓ) was an ancient city of Crete, the ruins of which are located approximately 3 km from the village of Kritsa. Located in Δημοτική Ενότητα Αγίου Νικολάου, Αποκεντρωμένη Διοίκηση Κρήτης, Ελλάς.
Old Town of Ghadames, Libya
Ghadames, Nalut, Libya
Ghadames, Libya is a ancient city of sacred significance. Approximate coordinates: 30.13236, 9.49724. Attributes: built, cultural, archaeological. Recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Located in غدامس, نالوت, ليبيا.
Sacred City of Caral-Supe
Supe, Lima, Peru
Caral is a ancient city of sacred significance. Approximate coordinates: -10.89275, -77.52111. Attributes: built, cultural, archaeological, ceremonial. Tradition: Pre-Hispanic. Recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The Sacred City of Caral-Supe, or simply Caral, is an archaeological site in Peru where the remains of the main city of the Caral civilization are found. It is located in the Supe valley of Peru, near the current town of Caral, 182 kilometers north of Lima, 23 km from the coast and 350 metres above sea level. It is attributed an antiquity of 5,000 years and it is considered the oldest city in the Americas and one of the oldest in the world. No other site has been found with such a diversity of monumental buildings or different ceremonial and administrative functions in the Americas as early as Caral. It has been declared a Humanity Cultural Heritage site by UNESCO. The Caral culture developed between 3000 and 1800 B.C (Late Archaic and Lower Formative periods). In America, it is the oldest of the pre-Hispanic civilizations, developing 1,500 years earlier than the Olmec civilization, the first Mesoamerican complex society. Closely related to the city of Caral was an early fishing city, Áspero or El Áspero, located on the coast near the mouth of the Supe River. There, remains of human sacrifices (two children and a newborn) have been found. In 2016, the remains were found of a woman, who presumably belonged to the local elite of 4,500 years ago. Located in Supe, Lima, Peru.
The acropolis of Baalbek
Baalbek, Baalbek-Hermel Governorate, Lebanon
Baalbek is a ancient city of sacred significance. Approximate coordinates: 34.00670, 36.20549. Attributes: built, cultural, archaeological. Tradition: Roman; also recognized in Islam, Christianity contexts. Associated figure: Bacchus, Jupiter. Mythological context: Roman Mythology. Recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Baalbek (; Arabic: بَعْلَبَكّ, romanized: Baʿlabakk; Syriac: ܒܥܠܒܟ) is a city located east of the Litani River in Lebanon s Beqaa Valley, about 67 km (42 mi) northeast of Beirut. It is the capital of Baalbek-Hermel Governorate. In 1998, the city had a population of 82,608. Most of the population consists of Shia Muslims, followed by Sunni Muslims and Christians; in 2017, there was also a large presence of Syrian refugees. Baalbek has a history that dates back at least 11,000 years, encompassing significant periods such as Prehistoric, Canaanite, Hellenistic, and Roman eras. After Alexander the Great conquered the city in 334 BCE, he renamed it Heliopolis (Ἡλιούπολις, Greek for Sun City ). The city flourished under Roman rule. However, it underwent transformations during the Christianization period and the subsequent rise of Islam following the Arab conquest in the 7th century. In later periods, the city was sacked by the Mongols and faced a series of earthquakes, resulting in a decline in importance during the Ottoman and modern periods. In the modern era, Baalbek enjoys economic advantages as a sought-after tourist destination. It is known for the ruins of the Roman temple complex, which includes the Temple of Bacchus and the Temple of Jupiter, and was inscribed in 1984 as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Other tourist attractions are the Great Umayyad Mosque, the Baalbek International Festival, the mausoleum of Sit Khawla, and a Roman quarry site named Hajar al-Hibla. Baalbek s tourism sector has encountered challenges due to conflicts in Lebanon, particularly the 1975–1990 civil war, the ongoing Syrian civil war since 2011, and the Israel–Hezbollah conflict (2023–present). Baalbek is considered to be part of Hezbollah group s heartland and is known to be their political stronghold. During the Israeli occupation of Southern Lebanon (1982–2000), the group managed to overpower the Lebanese army in Baalbek and gain control of the city. The settlement was subsequently used as a base to recruit and train men for attacks against Israeli forces. Hezbollah continues to hold significant political influence and popular support in Baalbek. In the 2022 Lebanese general election the Amal-Hezbollah list won 9 out of 10 seats in the Baalbek-Hermel Governorate. Israel has conducted numerous airstrikes and raids against military and civilian targets in the Baalbek area in the past decades. For instance, in 2006 during the Operation Sharp and Smooth, Israeli commandos raided a hospital and bombed multiple houses, killing two Hezbollah fighters and at least eleven civilians. In 2024, during the Israel–Hezbollah conflict, Israel sent forced displacement calls for the entire city. Shortly after, Israeli airstrikes killed 19 people, including 8 women. Located in بعلبك, محافظة بعلبك الهرمل, لبنان.