The oldest house in the world. Famous Roman baths and unique temples. Sanchi Stupa, India
How many years can a house last? History gives very unexpected answers to this question - there are cases when people live in separate houses for centuries and even millennia! It all depends on the material environment and attention of a person to his home.
So, let's try to determine the oldest residential building in the world.
wooden house
The oldest of the wooden residential buildings, which has not only survived to this day, but continues to serve faithfully for its intended purpose, is the so-called "King's Farm" on Faroe Islands(included on the rights of autonomy in Denmark). It was supposedly built in the 11th century.
At first, the residence of the local bishop and the seminary were located in this house. But after in 1538 all real estate catholic church in the Faroe Islands became the property of the King of Denmark, the "mansion" got its classic name. The ancient Danish family of Patersson, who has been living here since the middle of the 16th century, only rents land and housing from the Danish crown.
stone house
Perhaps this very original house of either three or four floors, located in the French Aveyron, can be called the oldest of the stone residential buildings still inhabited. Its history dates back to the 13th century.
Such an unusual design, expanding upward, speaks of the frugality of its former owners. The point is that in medieval France All residential buildings were taxed on the number of square meters, and only the first floor was taken into account.
If hotels can be attributed to residential buildings, then the “champion” in this category is undoubtedly the Hyoshi Hotel. Built in the suburbs Japanese city Komatsu, he received his first guests back in 717.
Almost 50 generations of owners have changed since that memorable year, but the hotel still hospitably opens its doors to guests who are ready to pay 300 euros per day for comfort, modern amenities and SPA treatments in healing springs, but most importantly - for the unique aroma of antiquity .
They can argue!
Other objects in which people live to this day could well intervene in the dispute about who and what is ancient, if not for one “but” - with all the conventions it is difficult to name traditional house... a cave. But still.
About 170 families live in the village of Kandovan (Iran) today. They organized their life in bizarre grottoes that arose in volcanic rocks. People have settled here for over 800 years.
According to experts, architecture structures appeared long before our era. The ancient structures preserved on our planet are amazing, they amaze the imagination. We will find out which buildings are the oldest in the world. Buildings that have come down to us ancient world completely different from the structures of modern architecture.
Legendary buildings of the ancient world
Who built ancient buildings, for what purpose, and by what technology, how they have survived to this day - all these questions arise when you see the structures of the ancient world. Further more about the most interesting buildings of that period.Temple of Queen Hatshepsut (Egypt)
work ancient architecture, in excellent condition that has survived to this day, is the Temple of Queen Hatshepsut. He is in Egypt. The year of construction is not known for certain, presumably 1473 BC. e. Even now we can say that the architect who created the temple is a genius.Mamertine Dungeon (Rome)
The Mamertine dungeon was erected in Rome not far from capitol hill even before n. e. in the year five hundred and seventy-eight. Criminals were kept there, and many of them were innocent. It was in this prison that Saints Peter and Paul ended their lives. 
Pyramid of Djoser in Sakar
In two thousand six hundred and fifty BC. e. In Egypt, the pyramid of Djoser was built by the architect Imhotep. As you know, this is the most old pyramid in Egypt and one of the oldest buildings in the world. Its height is sixty-two meters. 
Greater Zimbabwe
In South Africa, the oldest and at the same time the most big building counts Greater Zimbabwe. This building appeared in the eleventh century, its population was at least eighteen thousand people. Scientists do not know why Great Zimbabwe was abandoned in the fifteenth century.The height of the ancient ruins reaches eleven meters. All structures were erected using the dry masonry method - granite slabs are laid in rows. This is surprising, since the standard material of Africa of that period was wood and clay.
Skara Brae Settlement
Ten houses built in what is now Scotland in 2500 B.C. e. are the oldest structures in Europe. This settlement is called Skara Brae. It is located on the islands. All houses are perfectly preserved, thanks to which scientists have found out how ancient people lived. According to the researchers, the dwellings were well equipped - they had water supply, heating, covered passages. 
The oldest buildings in Russia
There are many old buildings in Russia that have witnessed many historical events, survived a number of eras, but were able to survive to this day. Most of these buildings are churches and monasteries.Spaso-Preobrazhensky Cathedral (Pereyaslavl-Zalessky)
In the year one thousand one hundred and fifty-two, Yuri Dolgoruky founded a church in the city of Pereyaslavl-Zalessky. Five years later, the construction was completed by Prince Andrei Bogolyubsky. This white-stone temple stands in the center of the city, being its decoration for more than eight hundred years. 
Spaso-Preobrazhensky Monastery (Pskov)
In the middle of the twelfth century in Pskov, at the place where the Mirozhka and Velikaya rivers merge, a monastery. It received the name of the Holy Transfiguration Mirozhsky Monastery. There are always many pilgrims in the cathedral. They are attracted by the unique fresco murals preserved there, dating back to the pre-Mongolian era. 
Dormition Knyaginin Monastery
At the very beginning of the thirteenth century a monastery was erected in Vladimir. Its founder is Prince Vsevolod the Big Nest. The Knyaginin Monastery got its name because the wife of Prince Maria Shvarnovna insisted on its construction. The Princess Monastery was rebuilt several times, survived the ruin, the years of the invasion of the Mongol-Tatars, but survived. 
Church of Boris and Gleb (Kideksha village)
Near the city of Suzdal in the village of Kideksha there is an old church protected by UNESCO. The year of its construction is one thousand one hundred and fifty-two. The monument of white stone architecture was built by Yuri Dolgoruky. Now the church is part of the Vladimir-Suzdal Museum-Reserve. 
The oldest surviving building in the world
The oldest building in the world is located in the Bougon Necropolis, which was discovered in France on the banks of the Bougon River in the first half of the nineteenth century. Extensive excavations were carried out there in the late sixties of the last century.The necropolis consists of five megalithic burial mounds dating back to the Neolithic era. As a result of the excavations, it turned out that the oldest building of this complex was built in 4800 BC. e.
And the oldest city in Russia is Derbent. The website site has a detailed and their history.
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10 most ancient buildings in the world:
10) Royal Grave, Sweden.
This unusual tomb was built in Bronze Age, more than 3,000 years ago.
9) Naveta des Tudons, Spain.
This burial site was discovered in 1975. It contains the remains of more than a hundred people, and their valuables are bronze bracelets and ceramic buttons. The tomb was built over 3,200 years ago.
8) Treasury of Atreus, Greece.
This tomb was built in the Bronze Age, over 3250 years ago. For more than a thousand years, it has been the owner of the highest and widest dome in the world. But that was before the construction of the Pantheon.
7) Caral, Peru.
This is a large ancient settlement in Peru, built over 4600 years ago. Currently, Caral is considered the oldest city In South America.
6) Pyramid of Djoser, Egypt.
The pyramid was built as the tomb of Pharaoh Djoser over 4700 years ago. The tomb is the oldest stone building in the world.
5) Hulbjerg Jættestue, Denmark.
The tomb was built 5000 years ago. It contains the remains of 400 people, one of which served as an example of early dental work.
4) Ireland.
A prehistoric monument, as well as the oldest building in Ireland, built about 5,100 years ago.
3) Monte d'Accoddi, Italy.
Built somewhere between 5,200-4,800 years ago. This amazingly preserved building was either a temple or an altar.
2) Knap of Howar, Scotland.
It was originally part of the estate. Today, this building is considered the oldest stone house in Europe. Built about 5500 years ago.
1) Megalithic temples Malta.
These buildings were used as religious temples, and are the oldest of their kind in the world. They were built over 5500 years ago.
We fly into space, race to build skyscrapers, clone living organisms and do a lot of things that until recently seemed impossible. And at the same time, they are still unable to unravel the mysteries of the builders and thinkers who lived millennia ago. An ancient cobblestone weighing a hundred tons surprises us more than a computer the size of half a palm.
Goseck Circle, Germany, Goseck
A ring system of concentric ditches and wooden fences was created between 5000 and 4800 BC. Now the complex is reconstructed. Presumably, it was used as a solar calendar.
Statues of "reptilians", French polynesia, Nuku Hiva island
Statues in a place called Temehea-Tohua in the Marquesas Islands depict strange creatures, the appearance of which in the mass consciousness is associated with aliens. They are different: there are large large-mouthed "reptilians", and there are others: with small bodies and disproportionately large elongated helmet-heads with huge eyes. They have one thing in common - an evil expression on their faces. Whether they were aliens from other worlds or just masked priests is unknown. The statues date from around the beginning of the 2nd millennium.
Stonehenge, UK, Salisbury
Altar, observatory, tomb, calendar? Scientists have not come to a consensus. Five thousand years ago, a ring ditch and ramparts around it with a diameter of 115 m appeared. A few centuries later, ancient builders brought here 80 four-ton stones, and a couple of centuries later - 30 megaliths weighing 25 tons. The stones were set in a circle and in the form of a horseshoe. The form in which Stonehenge has survived to this day is largely the result of human activity in recent centuries. People continued to work on the stones: the peasants chipped off pieces of amulets from them, the tourists marked the territory with inscriptions, and the restorers figured out for the ancients how they had it right.
Pyramid of Kukulkan, Mexico, Chichen Itza
Every year, on the days of the spring and autumn equinoxes, thousands of tourists gather at the foot of the sanctuary of the supreme Mayan deity - the Feathered Serpent. They observe the miracle of the "appearance" of Kukulkan: the Serpent moves down along the balustrade of the main staircase. The illusion is created by the play of triangular shadows cast by the nine platforms of the pyramid at the moment when the setting sun illuminates its northwestern corner for 10 minutes. If the sanctuary had been displaced even by a degree, none of this would have happened.
Karnak stones, France, Brittany, Karnak
In total, about 4,000 megaliths up to four meters high are arranged in slender alleys near the city of Karnak. The rows run parallel to each other or diverge like a fan, in some places they form circles. The complex dates back to the 5th-4th millennium BC. There were legends in Brittany that it was the wizard Merlin who made the ranks of Roman legionnaires turn to stone.
Stone balls, Costa Rica
Pre-Columbian artifacts scattered close up pacific coast Costa Rica, were discovered in the 1930s by banana plantation workers. Hoping to find gold inside, the vandals destroyed many balls. Now most of the rest are kept in museums. The diameter of some stones reaches 2.5 meters, weight - 15 tons. Their purpose is unknown.
Georgia Guidestones, USA, Georgia, Elbert
In 1979, someone under the pseudonym R.C. Christian ordered a construction company to manufacture and install a monument - a structure of six granite monoliths with a total weight of more than 100 tons. On the four side plates are engraved ten commandments to descendants in eight languages, including Russian. The last paragraph reads: "Do not be a cancer for the Earth, leave a place for nature too!"
Nuraghi Sardinia, Italy, Sardinia
Semi-conical structures resembling huge beehives (up to 20 m high) appeared in Sardinia at the end of the 2nd millennium BC, before the arrival of the Romans. The towers were built without a foundation, from stone blocks superimposed on each other, not fastened with any mortar and held only by their own weight. The purpose of the nuraghe is unclear. It is characteristic that archaeologists have repeatedly discovered miniature models of these towers made of bronze during excavations.
Saxahuaman, Peru, Cusco
The archaeological park at an altitude of 3700 meters and an area of 3000 hectares is located north of the capital of the Inca Empire. The defensive and at the same time temple complex was built at the turn of the 15th-16th centuries. Zigzag crenellated walls, reaching 400 meters in length and six in height, are made of multi-ton stone blocks, including 200-ton ones. How the Incas installed these blocks, how they adjusted them one under the other, is unknown. From above, Saxahuaman looks like the toothy head of the puma Cuzco (the city was founded in the form of a sacred animal of the Incas).
Arkaim, Russia, Chelyabinsk region
The settlement of the Bronze Age (III-II millennium BC) is located on the same latitude as Stonehenge. Coincidence? Scientists don't know. Two rows of circular walls (the diameter of the far one is 170 m), a drainage system and a sewerage system, a well in every house are evidence of a highly developed culture. The monument was discovered by students and schoolchildren from an archaeological expedition in 1987. (In the photo - a model-reconstruction.)
Newgrange, Ireland, Dublin
The Celts called it Fairy Mound and considered it the home of one of their chief gods. A round structure made of stone, earth and rubble with a diameter of 85 meters was erected more than 5000 years ago. A corridor leads inside the mound, ending with a ritual chamber. On the days of the winter solstice, this chamber is brightly illuminated for 15–20 minutes by a ray of sun that enters the window above the tunnel entrance.
Coral Castle, USA, Florida, Homestead
The whimsical structure was single-handedly built in 28 years (1923-1951) by the Latvian immigrant Edward Lindskalnin in honor of lost love. How a man of modest height and build moved huge blocks in space remains a mystery.
Yonaguni pyramids, Japan, Ryukyu archipelago
Monuments of huge stone platforms and pillars located under water at a depth of 5 to 40 meters were discovered in 1986. The main of these structures has the form of a pyramid. Not far from it is a large platform with steps, similar to a stadium with spectator stands. One of the objects resembles a huge head, like the moai statues on Easter Island. IN scientific community there are disputes: many believe that the formations lying on the bottom of the ocean have exclusively natural origin. But loners like Masaaki Kimura, a professor at Ryukyu University who has repeatedly dived to the ruins, insist that a person was involved.
Great Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe, Masvingo
One of the largest and oldest stone structures South Africa It was built from the 11th century, and in the 15th century it was abandoned for some unknown reason. All structures (up to 11 meters in height and 250 in length) were built using the dry masonry method. Presumably, up to 18,000 people lived in the settlement.
Delhi Column, India, New Delhi
Iron column over 7 meters high and weighing over 6 tons - part architectural complex Qutub Minar. It was cast in honor of King Chandragupta II in 415. For unclear reasons, the column, which is almost 100% iron, is virtually indestructible. Scientists are trying to explain this fact by various reasons: the special skill and technology of ancient Indian blacksmiths, dry air and specific climatic conditions in the Delhi region, the formation of a protective shell - in particular, as a result of the fact that the Hindus anointed the sacred monument with oils and incense. Ufologists, as usual, see in the column another proof of the intervention of extraterrestrial intelligence. But the secret of "stainless steel" has not yet been unraveled.
Nazca Lines, Peru, Nazca Plateau
A 47-meter spider, a 93-meter hummingbird, a 134-meter eagle, a lizard, an alligator, a snake, other zoomorphic and humanoid creatures ... Giant bird's-eye images seem to be scratched into the devoid of vegetation rock, and as if with one hand, in the same style. In fact, these are furrows up to 50 cm deep and up to 135 cm wide, made in different time in the 5th-7th centuries.
Nabta Observatory, Nubia, Sahara
In the sands next to dry lake is the oldest archaeoastronomical monument on the planet, 1000 years older than Stonehenge. The location of the megaliths allows you to determine the day of the summer solstice. Archaeologists believe that people lived here seasonally, when there was water in the lake, so they needed a calendar.
Antikythera mechanism, Greece, Antikythera
A mechanical device with dials, hands and gears at the beginning of the 20th century was found on a sunken ship sailing from Rhodes (100 BC). After lengthy research and reconstruction, scientists found that the device served astronomical purposes - it made it possible to monitor the movement of celestial bodies and make very complex calculations.
Baalbek Plates, Lebanon
Rimsky temple complex belong to the I-II century AD. But the Romans did not build sanctuaries in an empty place. At the base of the temple of Jupiter lie more ancient slabs weighing 300 tons. The western retaining wall is made up of a series of "trilithons" - three limestone blocks, each more than 19 m long, 4 m high and weighing about 800 tons. Roman technology was not able to lift such a weight. By the way, not far from the complex for more than one thousand years there is another block - under 1000 tons.
Göbekli Tepe, Türkiye
The complex on the Armenian Highlands is considered the oldest of the largest megalithic structures(approximately X-IX millennium BC). At that time, people were still engaged in hunting and gathering, but someone was able to erect circles from huge steles with images of animals.
